It seems that NAM forecasts (12 km and 3 km) on XCSkies are very helpful for soaring in Utah. I haven't seen a benefit of HRRR over NAM. I'd be interested in hearing from other pilots who fly in the mountains comparing NAM with HRRR or Skysight for thermal predictions.

I'd also like to hear a discussion of why a 3 km resolution model is a great improvement for soaring over a 12 km model, for example. Higher resolution models generate more detailed forecasts, and maybe they show better what kind of variation you might see, but the variations at this scale don't seem pinned to the earth at an accuracy of 3 km.