With a view to improving nowcasting capabilities across Europe, 30 international specialists convened at EUMETSAT’s headquarters in Darmstadt in Germany for a workshop on developing integrated nowcasting tools.
The workshop, held in January 2024, included sessions that explored aspects such as: research and development priorities for integrating new and existing data streams; the pooling of resources to maximize the potential of data products from next-generation programs; and initiatives to strengthen data exchange and collaboration, including via the NWC SAF and the European Weather Cloud.
Participants attended from national meteorological and hydrological institutes of 18 EUMETSAT member states, EUMETSAT’s Support to the Now-casting and Very Short Range Forecasting Satellite Application Facility (NWC SAF), the European Severe Storms Laboratory, and the World Meteorological Organization. The workshop focused on EUMETSAT’s satellite programs, which are expected to enhance the timeliness and resolution of data relevant for nowcasting.
For example, Meteosat Third Generation hosts Europe’s first space-based lightning sensors and will deliver the first continuous, near-real-time atmospheric sounding data from over the continent. Metop Second Generation polar-orbiting satellites will make observations that will be especially impactful at higher latitudes where data from geostationary spacecraft are more sparse.
“Nowcasts complement longer-term forecasts and are a vital last line of defense for protecting lives and livelihoods against the worst impacts of severe weather,” said Dr Stephan Bojinski, satellite application expert and manager of the Meteosat Third Generation User Preparation Project at EUMETSAT.
“By bringing nowcasting specialists together from across Europe, we were able to explore what communities need from nowcasting applications, identify gaps in current services, especially in some of the smaller national meteorological and hydrological services, and develop some great ideas to share data and collaborate on nowcasting tool development in future.”
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