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The control member of the medium range ensemble has the same horizontal and vertical resolutions as the now discontinued HRES.  This does not mean that it may be used simply as a substitute for HRES working as a deterministic model yielding deterministic results.  As a forecasting aid it is not a direct substitute for HRES.  There

There are 50 other equally valid members of the ensemble.  All are equally valid.  There is no reason to select the results from the unperturbed control member rather than any of the others.  All are equally valid.  And any member viewed in isolation cannot provide any estimate of forecast uncertainty or confidence.   

Use of the ensemble mean (EM)

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