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Operational nowcasting
In case of severe precipitation, forecasters are often expected to make precise predictions of when and where heavy rainfall will occur. Especially for these situations, forecasters are interested in a dedicated tool that facilitates the forecast task, but due to the complexity of such convective systems, precise predictions are almost impossible.
The improvement of the forecasts with short lead-time (nowcasts), including the dissemination of accurate warnings in case of severe events, is a key project for the RMI for the coming years. Our group plays a crucial role in these developments. The final goal is to implement an operational nowcasting system that provides accurate nowcasts with a high spatial and temporal resolution. End-users of this system will include not only forecasters, but the nowcasting system will be available for external clients as well (e.g., hydrological services, civil authorities, media, broad public,).
Rather than developing a nowcasting system from scratch, our group preferred to cooperate with a partner with an existing nowcasting system, and to contribute to the development of that system. In order to make a deliberated choice of which system to join, a comprehensive literature study was made concerning the nowcasting systems that have been developed so far in other institutes and services. This study contains also an inventory of the requirements that the nowcasting system should have, requirements provided by the potential future users. It can be downloaded through the link below.
Contact person for this topic: Maarten Reyniers