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The Rapid Refresh Model, which replaced the Rapid Update Cycle on May 1st, 2012 at 12Z, is the continental-scale model designed to provide short-term forecasts of rapidly-changing weather conditions, using a wide range of available observations, including commercial aircraft observations. This model is updated each hour, and runs up to eighteen hours, meaning it is used only for "nowcasting" and short-range weather forecasting. This model is almost constantly being upgraded since it is quite new(scheduled to be upgraded to version 3 (RAPv3) on August 23rd, 2016), but as of November of 2015, the model has a 13-km horizontal resolution, 50 vertical levels with a ptop of 10 hPa, and uses sigma vertical coordinates. The Rapid Refresh model is complemented by it's higher resolution version, the HRRR, or High-Resolution Rapid Refresh. This model has a 3-km horizontal resolution, also running hourly. More on this model may be added in the future as it changes.
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