Working Group on Nowcasting & Mesocale Research Peter Steinle, Rita Roberts & Jeanette Onvlee

Instruments for R&D Workshops Publicity, Training etc. Meetings Linkages across disciplines Coordination & Advocacy RDP/FDP WGNMR key role in providing guidance, advice & oversight Scientific & social experimentation Training/Capability Development Other non-WWRP RDP/FDPs As for RDP/FDP Watching brief  opportunities for linkages & further development In order to advance nowcasting and mesoscale research WG-NMR is heavily involved in guiding, advising and overseeing various Research Demonstration Projects (RDPs) and Forecast Demonstration Projects (FDPs) as well as participating in the scientific and organizing committees for a number of relevant symposia and conferences. A major method of promoting and encouraging development in keys research topics is via the judicious choice of sessions and keynote speakers at various symposia and conferences. In particular WG-NMR provides the International Scientific Committee for the Workshop on Short-range forecasting and Nowcasting (WSN) every 4 years, and is also involved in the Data Assimilation Symposia. The working group also actively encourages the organizing committees to include sessions relating to the action areas.   Another important strategy that WG-NMR has to advance research into the WWRP challenges however is via the oversight of RDP/FDPs. The Working Group is generally directly represented on the international science committees, which provides platforms for ensuring that the science and implementation plans address relevant aspects of the Implementation Plan’s Action Areas. The connections to research projects from around the world also means these direct influences are augmented by encouraging and facilitating links between various smaller projects. The working group is also actively collaborating with groups within both WWRP and WMO in general, to facilitate research into some of the broader or cross-cutting Action Areas. These collaborations will be broadened to include stronger links with groups such as GURME. Finally there are a number of actions where WG-NMR just needs to maintain a watching brief on existing efforts, and to provide a channel for coordination between different projects.

Meetings & Policy RDP   Grey Zone, GABLS etc. Held WSN-16, Planning WSN-20 Early Career Scientist training Noticeable private sector involvement Established merged group and how will address WWRP Implementation Plan Preparation of Nowcasting Guidelines for CBS Will propose enhanced guidelines for RDP & FDP submissions With DAOS & PDEF – start with now, continue throughout the year Expect mostly telecon, but includes invitations to annual meetings Cross representation on organizing committees for major symposia RDP   Grey Zone, GABLS etc. Cross-representation on organizing committees required to promote & stimulate cross-area development (which is where many interesting and challenging bits are)

RDP/FDP Process Assist with development of proposals/opportunities RELAMPAGO, LVB, HIW, LAFE, SURF Influence & steer towards WWRP goals Clearer guidance on RDP/FDP requirements, including Direct connection to WWRP goals Implementation plans to describe the development being explored Support for wider involvement (data access: policy & sustainability) Push hard on impact assessment Develop summary of current situation & approaching requirements for urban observation and prediction Promotion & advocacy of opportunities across wider community

RDP/FDP Involvement UPDRAFT - TC landfall etc. AvRDP – doing all that is asked, and more New plan in January ‘17 Lake Vic – SWFDP links Observations: lightning, rainfall, severe winds Guidance on observing & nowcasting possibilities ICE-POP – Importance of convective-scale & nowcast ensembles Cloud observations, modelling and impact SURF – Cloud & aerosol observations, modelling and impact Link to nearby urban studies RELAMPAGO – Nowcasting capacity development Observations: Rainfall, flash floods, severe weather (hail, tornadoes)

RDP/FDP Involvement LAFE – new observations Working on developing a proposal TOMACS – publicize existing data sets for urban & new observation studies SCMREX – TC, rainfall convective scale & nowcasting ensembles Links to SWFDP

Land Surface Advocacy/support for more groups to unify under major international community frameworks such as NASA LIS Publicizing BNHCRC work, and exploring linkages to related work Providing a link between modelling community, Emergency Services, Agriculture and Water Management: short range  seasonal

Observations Standards: Refinement on EUMETNET/OPERA for radar (data quality needs) GNSS, lidar & aircraft require attention Satellites – Data Exchange & User meetings SCOPE GOES-R (November 2016) for U.S. and S. America Lidar – LAFE proposal Aviation related - AvRDP

Web resources FDP/RDP guidelines Impact Model Inventory Contacts & data access description for data exchange TOMACS & other RDP data Regional networks – timeliness, QC SCOPE Experimental data Contacts for non-WWRP, but related activities?

Other projects STEPS, INCA-Ens, NCAR-Ens, SWIRLS-Ens Km-scale ensembles PROFORCE: impact, user focus ARISTOTLE SRNWP – EPS: convective scale ensembles EUMETNET – ASIST: convective scale & nowcast ensembles NWCSAF BNHCRC WGNMR activity Science Committees – setting science goals Publicity & advocacy – raising profile and providing links across projects e.g. WSN

Other projects “Meteorology of Tropical West Africa: the Forecasters’ Handbook*” book will be published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, in Jan. 2017. Chapter 6 on Nowcasting was authored by Rita Roberts and James Wilson. *WMO was one of the partners in the preparation of this book, through its Education and Training Office, the Data-processing and Forecasting System Division of the Weather and Disaster Risk Reduction Services Department and the World Weather Research Programme within the Atmospheric Research and Environment Branch. In addressing the needs of the meteorological community in West Africa, the book makes a significant contribution to the WMO Capacity Development Programme.

Gaps / Pauses Polar –addressing with new membership New AvRDP plan – Jan 2017 Establish solid links to GAW (smoke etc.) in general and GURME (urban) specifically WCRP & GEWEX links

Summary Still establishing group. ToR done, membership to be finalized FDP/RDPs & Symposia main instruments for addressing most of the Action items Establish links between related, non-WWRP, activities Steer towards aligning with WWRP Implementation Plan Significant involvement with developments of proposals … and strategic management of these projects Each FDP/RDP addresses many action areas