Minutes of the 23Rd Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Co-Operation Between European Forecasters (WGCEF) Thursday 12Th – Friday 13Th October 2017
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Minutes of the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Co-operation Between European Forecasters (WGCEF) Thursday 12th – Friday 13th October 2017 Warsaw, Poland OGRODNIK, Michal - IMGW/Hydrometeorolo- gical Service of Poland PATKAI, Zsolt - OMSZ/Hungary RALIENE, Vida - Hydrometeorological Service of Lithuania REY, Jaime - AEMET/Spain ROULET, Bernard - Meteo France SANDEV, Marjan - Czech Hydrometeorological Institute SKELBAEK, Michael - DMI/Denmark List of Participants (in alphabetical order): VANHAMEL, Thomas - RMI/Belgium Participants via videoconference: BLAAUBOER, Dick - Eumetnet Mr. Attilio DI DIODATO (Italy), Mr. Panos GIANNOPOU- CSEKITS, Christian - ZAMG/Austria LOS (Greece); Mr. Andre-Charles LETESTU (Switzerland); Mr Mats Johansson, SHMI (Sweden). CUSACK, Evelyn - MET EIREANN/Ireland DIEPEVEEN, Jos - KNMI/The Netherlands Meeting Venue: Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – DOUBLET, Karen Helen - Met Norway National Research Institute DROZDZYNSKA, Julianna - MGW/ ul. Podleśna 61 Hydrometeorological Service of Poland 01-673 Warszawa HAUSEN, Robert - DWD/Germany Thursday, 12th of October HEWSON, Tim - ECMWF HLADNIK, Veronika - Slovenian Environmental Introduction Agency IMGW Deputy Director General Piotr Kowalczak JAMESON, Stephanie - UK Met Office welcomed the WG to Warsaw and introduced the JONASDOTTIR, Elín Björk - Icelandic Met Office participants to the IMGW facilities. KALIN, Lovro - DHMZ/Meteorological and As WG Chair, Christian thanked Piotr and made his Hydrometeorological Service of Croatia introductory remarks. Christian and Jos then KRUMINA, Laura - Latvian Environment, welcomed the new members to the group: Jaime Rey from Spain, Laura Krumina from Latvia, Elin Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC) Bjork Jonasdottir from Iceland and Stephanie LAINE, Mikko - FMI/Finland Jameson from the UK. LEITAO, Paula - PMA/Portugal In an overview of group activities, Christian noted MANCZAK, Piotr - MGW/Hydrometeorological that WGCEF delegates were Co-Chairs in the Service of Poland Forecasters’ Session of the EMS Annual Conference, 4 The European Forecaster which took place in Dublin from 4 th to 8 th of • At the beginning of October, KNMI launched new app. September 2017 (Evelyn Cusack and Christian • Development of own visualisation and production Csekits). Furthermore the WGCEF Chair is member of system, Geoweb. the PSC, the programme and science committee of the EMS. Karen Helen Doublet /Norwegian Met Service WGCEF was also heavily involved in the Eumetnet • Several episodes of extreme precipitation Task Team on Improved Services and Impact Based events/flooding during the last year, and there is a Warnings (Laura Paterson, Jos Diepeveen and project to update extreme weather warning plans. Christian Csekits). WGCEF has also participated in • NWP cooperation between SMHI and METNorway will the Eumetnet Drafting Team on forecasting (Jos include FMI this year. Ensemble system MEPS 2.5 km, Diepeveen and Christian Csekits). 10 members. Cooperation on a HPC-solution as well • New trajectory models for drifting objects. Flexible The meeting agenda was agreed and actions from solution, different modules: drifting oil slick, persons the last meeting were agreed. in water, different objects. General input data: current, waves and wind Members’ Updates • Developing finemesh models in coastal areas and in fjords: In this round table session, participants were invit- - grid size 800 m, wave model and ocean ed to introduce themselves and give a short update model. on new developments within their NMS. - grid size 2.5 km atmospheric model. Cristian Csekits, ZAMG/Austria Robert Hausen DWD/Germany • During nights there is now only one technical shift • Change in DWD-law regarding providing free data (instead of two; operational since summer 2017) • The “Sinfony“project is developing an integrated • New ZAMG-App for fire brigade, police and ambu- forecast system lance • Add-on DWD-App: warnings and reports for flood- • INCA now uses forecast data from AROME (instead ings, storm tides and avalanches of ALARO) from 2018/19 on • New operational forecasting and emergency room (7 Tim Hewson, ECMWF instead of 4 positions) ready in November 2017 • Agreement reached that ECMWF computing facilities – notably the next -Supercomputer – will be re-located Evelyn Cusack, Met Eireann to Bologna in Italy • New Assistant Director: Dr Sarah O'Reilly • Two new model cycles were introduced since the 8 new meteorologists are training at KNMI: last WGCEF meeting. New seasonal forecast system October/November/December. KNMI trainers coming (System 5) will become operational in November. to Dublin in January and February. • For the recent devastating hurricanes in the North • European Met Society in Dublin was a great Atlantic ECMWF forecasts, though not perfect, outper- success.....the largest ever over 850 (110 from formed forecasts from other centres (including special Ireland). Met Eireann had a follow-on 1-day seminar in high resolution LAMs). October 2018 which energized all the staff. We gave 15-minute presentations from EMS. Veronika Hladnik, Slovenian • We continue to automate remote rainfall stations in Environmental Agency mountains etc and 60 are being tested. • Implementation of Aladin-SI model version CY40 • Facebook account Arso Vreme Jos Diepeveen KNMI/Netherlands • Rejuvenation of the forecasting team Facebook • There is ambition to develop to an Early Warning account Arso Vreme. Centre Devastating hurricane Irma hits the SSS Islands in the Stephanie Jameson, UK Met Office Caribbean, especially St. Maarten • Weather challenges over the past year: • 2017 is the 200 year anniversary of the birth of Buys - Storm Naming reaches ‘Ewan’ for the Ballot, founder KNMI in 1854 (1817-1890) 2016/2017 season. Particularly notable impacts • New Dual-pol radar in Herwijnen and update BULL associated with Storm Angus (flooding) and Storm supercomputer Doris (winds). The European Forecaster 5 - Aviation impacts due to dense fog over • Ongoing refurbishment of forecasting office Christmas period. • Regional Maritime Centre established in Split. • UM Model Upgrade: Laura Krumina, Latvian Environment, - GM: Horizontal resolution increases Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC) - UK High Resolution (UKV): Introduction of hourly • Continued renovation of the meteorological and cycling, change from 3 to 4 Dimensional Analysis (4D- hydrological network – reduction of manual observa- Var), higher resolution lateral boundaries. tions, but real time data flow and web cameras – - Ensemble: Increase in number of ensemble completion is planned by the end of 2018; members, increased horizontal resolution. • Development of new automatic verification system • Other Business Development: for general forecasts; verification of forecasts on daily - Transform & Efficiency Programme, increase in basis – fast feedback on models and forecasters Media & Aviation Consultancy Services, developing performance; involvement with the UN Ops & Crisis Centre. • Revision of hydrological and meteorological warn- ings criteria; closer cooperation with civil protection Mats Johansson, SMHI Sweden authority and municipalities. The first steps to new • Due to new products (road condition forecasts) there warnings dissemination and verification system; has been one more night shift for my group since • Development of the personnel competency mainte- October (2 total). SMHI also have 2-3 night shifts in nance and assessment system for the Forecasting and Stockholm working mostly with aviation forecasts. Climate Department (3 years cycle); competency • Upgrading radar stations, 6 of 12 are done. The plan assessment for general and marine forecasters at the is that all of them will be modified by late 2018. end of 2017; • The work to upgrade observation stations is ongoing • More activities in the NORDMET with an emphasis and will continue also next year. on the work in the NAMCON consortium, developing • Running a ten member high resolution EPS (Arome) closer cooperation with Estonian Environment together with Norway and Finland. Finland joined Agency. Priorities - field of aviation forecasting earlier this year. (common SWC, etc.) and IT solutions; • Impact based warning project is running and Phase • Analysis of past and future climate for Latvia, activi- I will be done in July next year. Parameters that are of ties were performed in cooperation with FMI – basis most interest are wind, snow, flooding and high sea for adaptation plans; levels. • Development of hydraulic model application, flood • From the coming ice season we will work together risk maps for flood risk with FMI with the ice-chart for the Baltic Sea • areas and hydrological simulation and forecasting • Aviation forecasting group has been working togeth- system. Activities are done in cooperation with SYKE er with DMI for a couple of years. The group has also (FINLAND); started cooperation with FMI. • Use of SENTINEL satellite images to detect ice cover / ice jams in inland waters, flooded areas. Elin Bjork JÓNASDÓTTIR, Icelandic Met Office Mikko Laine, FMI Finland • Harmonie is run in two separate instances, one by • A joint Nordic (Norway, Sweden, Finland) model IMO the other in collaboration with DMI (IGA) MEPS has replaced our own Harmonie model. • New satellite images, including SCAT • New weather warning system, now some of our • Visual Weather and Moving weather updates pend- warnings are given up to 5 days ahead. ing. Free choice of area for warnings. • CAP warning system for severe weather. • Meteorologist