 The first successful numerical prediction was performed using the ENIAC digital computer in 1950 by a team composed of American meteorologists Jule Charney , Philip Thompson , Larry Gates , and Norwegian meteorologist Ragnar <unk> and applied mathematician John von Neumann . They used a simplified form of atmospheric dynamics based on solving the barotropic vorticity equation over a single layer of the atmosphere , by computing the geopotential height of the atmosphere 's 500 millibars ( 15 inHg ) pressure surface . This simplification greatly reduced demands on computer time and memory , so the computations could be performed on the relatively primitive computers of the day . When news of the first weather forecast by ENIAC was received by Richardson in 1950 , he remarked that the results were an " enormous scientific advance . " The first calculations for a 24 ‑ hour forecast took ENIAC nearly 24 hours to produce , but Charney 's group noted that most of that time was spent in " manual operations " , and expressed hope that forecasts of the weather before it occurs would soon be realized . 
