I am noticing a ton of new folks in our forum this year. Would like to welcome everyone who considers this a wonderful hobby. I would like to make a few pointers, as I see some of the questions coming up. In regards to model times, the NAM and the GFS run 4 times per day. The NAM runs around the timeframes of 0400,1030,1600 and 2200 hours (06z,12z,18z and 00z). The GFS runs around 0530,1130,1730 and 2330 hours. The Euro runs two times per day, at approximately 0230 and 1430 (00z and 12z).
The one word of caution I would give to the newbies is that a. The nam tends to over amplify storms and in my opinion, is a great tool to use for 2m temps, along with thermals and such (sniffes out low level temps for freezing rain events). The SREF, which is a Nam hybrid or to my understanding derives from the same Nam type setup (a met can explain this better) also has its tendencies to give you a precursor a lot of the times as to how the Nam run will play out before the Nam actually comes out. It too also has the tendency to over amplify. The SREF usually comes out around 2030-2100 hours.
I would be happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability. I love when new folks come in and are interested in our hobby we all share on here. I am not a moderator or met by any means, but I enjoy the weather very much so, especially winter time.