Comparison of two analog-based downscaling methods for regional reference evapotranspiration forecasts

The objective of this study was to compare the performance of natural analog (NA) and constructed analog (CA) methods to produce both probabilistic and deterministic downscaled daily reference evapotranspiration (ETo) forecasts in the southeastern United States. The 1-15 day, 15-member ETo forecasts were produced from 1979 to 2009 using the Penman-Monteith equation and a forecast analog approach with a combination of the Global Forecast System (GFS) reforecasts and NCEP-DOE Reanalysis 2 climatology, and were downscaled using the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR). The Pearson correlation coefficient (R), mean squared error skill score (MSESS), and Bias were used to evaluate the skill of downscaled deterministic forecasts. The Linear Error in Probability Space (LEPS) skill score, Brier Skill Score (BSS), relative operating characteristic, and reliability diagrams were used to evaluate the skill of downscaled probabilistic forecasts. Overall, CA showed slightly higher skill than NA in terms of the metrics for deterministic forecasts, while for probabilistic forecasts NA showed higher skill than CA regarding the BSS in five categories (terciles, and 10th and 90th percentiles) and lower skill than CA regarding the LEPS skill score. Both CA and NA produced skillful deterministic results in the first 3 lead days, while the skill was higher for CA than for NA. Probabilistic NA forecasts exhibited higher resolution and reliability than CA, likely due to a larger ensemble size. Forecasts by both methods showed the lowest skill in the Florida peninsula and in mountainous areas, likely due to the fact that these features were not well-resolved in the model forecast. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.