Jason,

Thanks for the heads up; can you elaborate on some of the model distinctions between FSU's SENS and the MM5? I would be curious as to how each distinct model carried Dean during the last 2-3 days. Moreso, would be curious as to the primary differing variables which seperates each from the other.

Andy

The FSU MM5 is a dynamic model, like the GFS, NAM, etc...it is the 5th version of the Penn State NonHydrostatic Mesoscale Model (which itself is the basis of the NAM-WRF if I am not mistaken). The SENS is not a distinct model, its an ensemble, which means it takes other model output, averages and weights the output and then comes up with a forecast. It is similiar in concept to the CONU and GUNS in the ATFC fields, but uses a more advanced weighting and averaging system.