EGU23-8824
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8824
EGU General Assembly 2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Evaluating probabilistic forecasts of extremes using continuous ranked probability score distributions

Maxime Taillardat1, Anne-Laure Fougères2, Philippe Naveau3, and Raphaël De Fondeville4
Maxime Taillardat et al.
  • 1Météo-France, Toulouse, France (maxime.taillardat@meteo.fr)
  • 2Univ. Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS UMR 5208, Institut Camille Jordan, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
  • 3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, UMR 8212, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, IPSL & U Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 4Swiss Data Science Center, ETH Zürich and EPFL, Switzerland

Verifying probabilistic forecasts for extreme events is a highly active research area because popular media and public opinions are naturally focused on extreme events, and biased conclusions are readily made. In this context, classical verification methods tailored for extreme events, such as thresholded and weighted scoring rules, have undesirable properties that cannot be mitigated, and the well-known continuous ranked probability score (CRPS) is no exception.

Here, we define a formal framework for assessing the behavior of forecast evaluation procedures with respect to extreme events, which we use to demonstrate that assessment based on the expectation of a proper score is not suitable for extremes. Alternatively, we propose studying the properties of the CRPS as a random variable by using extreme value theory to address extreme event verification. An index is introduced to compare calibrated forecasts, which summarizes the ability of probabilistic forecasts for predicting extremes. The strengths and limitations of this method are discussed using both theoretical arguments and simulations.

How to cite: Taillardat, M., Fougères, A.-L., Naveau, P., and De Fondeville, R.: Evaluating probabilistic forecasts of extremes using continuous ranked probability score distributions, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-8824, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-8824, 2023.