Understanding the processes and predictability of high impact weather is key to enabling better warnings that will assist the community to respond to the weather hazard.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), through the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP), is conducting a 10-year international project on High Impact Weather (“HIWeather”). The aim of the program is:

To promote cooperative international research to achieve a dramatic increase in resilience to high impact weather, worldwide, through improving forecasts for timescales of minutes to two weeks and enhancing their communication and utility in social, economic and environmental applications.

The Australian community is conducting research aligned to the five weather hazards being focussed on in HIWeather, namely urban flood, wildfire, extreme local winds, disruptive winter weather, and urban heat and air pollution.

As part of the Australian HIWeather contribution, this AMOS Workshop on High Impact Weather Predictability and Processes will highlight some of the meteorological research being done here in Australia, and provide a global perspective on the latest research. It is the first in a series of annual workshops that will address the HIWeather research themes of predictability and processes; multi-scale forecasts; human impacts, vulnerability and risk; communication; and user-oriented evaluation.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Programme

1:00-1:15 Welcome and refreshments

1:15-1:40 The WWRP High Impact Weather Project – Beth Ebert, BOM

1:40-2:20 Convection and heavy rainfall – Rob Warren, Monash University

2:20-3:00 Bushfire – Sarah Harris, Monash University

3:00-3:30 Afternoon tea

3:30-4:10 Extreme local winds – Hamish Ramsay, CSIRO

4:10-4:50 East Coast Lows – Acacia Pepler, BOM

4:50-5:30 Heat waves – Michael Reeder, Monash University

5:30 Close of workshop

Image: KINGLAKE NATIONAL PARK AFTER THE ‘BLACK SATURDAY’ BUSHFIRES
http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au
Photographer : Nick Pitsas on February 25 2009.
CC license