Industry News
WMO completes Southern Africa nowcasting and weather forecasting testbed
The Weather and Climate Information Services – Early Warnings for Southern Africa (WISER-EWSA) project has completed a testbed event to improve nowcasting and weather forecasting practices to reduce disaster risk in vulnerable communities.
The event was the first of two testbeds to be established under the project, which is funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and led by the University of Leeds. The testbed, said to be the first of its kind in Southern Africa, aimed to bolster the capacity of the region’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to provide satellite-based nowcasting.
The WISER-EWSA project team includes the WMO World Weather Research Programme (WWRP), NMHSs, national disaster risk management authorities, non-governmental organizations and private partners.
Mountain Hydrology Group receives US$1m to develop new snowpack data for western USA water supply management
The US Bureau of Reclamation has granted US$1m in funding over the next three years to the Mountain Hydrology Group to develop a new snowpack data set to inform water supply management in the western USA.
Near-real-time estimates
Researchers in the Mountain Hydrology Group currently produce near-real-time estimates of snow water equivalent, or the amount of water contained in fallen snow, for mountainous areas in California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Reports and data are released to water managers and forecasters and are also available to the public.
Western USA
With the grant, the group will be able to expand its estimates to all 17 western states, notably adding mountainous areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and large mountain ranges such as the Cascades and northern Rocky Mountains.
Met Éireann to hire two postdoctoral meteorological researchers
Met Éireann, a line division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, is seeking expressions of interest for two postdoctoral research positions, to begin as soon as possible.
Both researchers will be based in Met Éireann HQ, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Where possible, the successful candidates may be authorized to partly work remotely, in line with government approved policies for workplace attendance. The application window will close April 28, 2024, at 5pm.
Future short-duration high-intensity rainfall events for Ireland
The first position offers a fixed-term contract for a postdoctoral researcher in the future short-duration high-intensity rainfall events for Ireland.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology publishes study of the 2022 UK summer drought
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has published a study that outlines how the 2022 UK drought evolved and its impacts on water resources, wildlife and people, comparing the situation with previous droughts and considering whether or not it is an indication of future events.
An appraisal of the severity of the 2022 drought and its impacts
The paper, An appraisal of the severity of the 2022 drought and its impacts, was published by UKCEH staff Lucy Barker, Jamie Hannaford, Eugene Magee, Steve Turner, Catherine Sefton, Jonathan Evans and Magdalena Szczykulska. The study was carried out as part of UKCEH work funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, including the National Hydrological Monitoring Programme and CANARI.
NOAA and CIRES publish findings from first real-time fire weather forecasting experiment
The first results have been published from 2022’s California Fire Dynamics Experiment (CalFiDE) – an NOAA and CIRES-led campaign to capture coordinated wildfire observations in real time.
The research shows it’s possible to collect measurements of fire and smoke chemistry, weather conditions and smoke plume dynamics in real time around an active wildfire. The preliminary results also shedd light on how pollutants like ozone are made and dispersed in a wildfire plume.
This study could lead to vast improvements in fire weather forecasting, which in turn could assist first responders on the ground who need to make quick decisions about firefighting strategy and evacuations, according to the researchers.
VIDEO: NOAA and CIRES fly over active wildfires to improve weather forecasting data
The first results have been published from 2022’s California Fire Dynamics Experiment (CalFiDE) – an NOAA and CIRES-led campaign to capture coordinated wildfire observations in real time.
This study could lead to vast improvements in fire weather forecasting, which in turn could assist first responders on the ground who need to make quick decisions about firefighting strategy and evacuations, according to the researchers.
As it’s difficult to get close enough to observe a fire’s behavior, make good observations and therefore create accurate forecasts, researchers packed instruments onto a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft and on several pickup trucks.
DTN releases AI-powered tropical storm forecast model
Data, analytics and technology company DTN has created an AI-powered tropical storm forecast model that can deliver warnings up to four days earlier than current forecasts.
AI-powered weather solutions
According to the company, the model is the first of its kind model. It uses semantic segmentation – an artificial intelligence (AI) technique used for driverless cars – with other machine learning (ML) techniques to generate high-detail forecasts that include additional risk insights, including hourly wind, precipitation and storm surge across areas impacted up to seven days in advance.
The advanced tropical storm forecast from DTN delivers additional risk insights, including hourly wind, precipitation and storm surge across areas impact up to seven days in advance.
EUMETSAT to enhance water management in Africa with satellite data
EUMETSAT hosted a workshop at its headquarters to create a roadmap for cooperation that would enhance the use of satellite data for water management in Africa.
Hydrology cooperation
The workshop, hosted on March 19-21, 2024, welcomed representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC); the Nile, Congo and Niger river basin authorities; national and regional institutions from South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria and East Africa; along with representatives from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the French Space Agency (CNES). EUMETSAT’s Operational Hydrology and Water Manager Satellite Application Facility (H SAF), which has been providing products covering Africa for the past five years, also participated in the workshop.