ICON-CH1 and ICON-CH2 Added for the Alpine Region

meteoblue has added the MeteoSwiss models ICON-CH1 and ICON-CH2 to the weather database, covering the Alpine region at 1 km and 2 km resolution with hourly values.

ICON-CH1 runs at 1 km with a 33-hour forecast horizon, updated eight times a day from the 00, 03, 06, 09, 12, 15, 18 and 21 UTC runs. ICON-CH2 runs at 2 km with a 120-hour horizon, updated twice a day from the 00 and 12 UTC runs. Both come from MeteoSwiss and deliver hourly values.

What the models provide

Variables include temperature and dew point at 2 m, wind at 10 m, 100 m, 210 m and 307 m above ground, wind gusts, total precipitation, snow depth, low, medium and high cloud cover, CAPE, convective inhibition, shortwave and diffuse shortwave radiation, and sea level pressure. The wind levels above 100 m are the ones that matter for wind energy.

Why two resolutions

The two models trade detail against lead time. ICON-CH1 resolves terrain and convection more finely but stops at 33 hours, which fits nowcasting and same-day planning. ICON-CH2 reaches five days at coarser detail. Neither replaces the other, so for a full picture both are worth requesting.

Coverage and archive

Despite the name, the domain extends well beyond Switzerland, roughly from 1°W to 18°E and 42°N to 51°N. The archive starts on 1 May 2026, so there is not yet a long historical series to train against.