Comparison of hourly solar radiation from a ground-based station, remote sensing and weather forecast models at a coastal site of South Italy.

The solar radiation is a critical input parameter when working with solar energy and radiation dependent surface processes. In this study, we present preliminary results from an inter-comparison between hourly values from a pyranometer, MSG-SEVIRI sensor and two meso-scale models, WRF and RAMS, in clear and cloudy sky conditions. Cloudy sky condition is the most important because the attenuation of solar radiation in the atmosphere is strongly dependent on the cloud variability. Bias and RMSE errors are evaluated at a coastal site in the Mediterranean area. These statistics show the tendency of both models to overestimate short-wave radiation.