The EFAS annual user meeting 2009 was held at ECMWF from 29 to 30 January 2009.
Description
Every year DG Joint Research Centre organises annual user workshops with representatives of the EFAS partner network for information and training purposes. The European Flood Alert System (EFAS) was launched in 2003 by the European Commission with the aim to increase warning time for floods in trans-national European river basins and to explicitly meet two main objectives: first, to complement Member States activities on flood preparedness, and second to provide the European Commission with information for improved aid and crisis management in the case of large trans-national flood events that might need intervention on an international level.
Since 2005 EFAS provides national water authorities and the European Commission with early flood warning information up to 10 days in advance based on multiple weather inputs. The prototype is set-up for the whole of Europe on a 5-km grid and provides the national hydrological centres twice a day with medium-range ensemble flood forecasting information. Currently, lead times of 3 to10 days are achieved through the incorporation of medium-range weather forecasts from the German Weather Service (DWD), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), comprising a full set of 51 members from the Ensemble Prediction System (EPS). In addition 16 members from COSMO-LEPS provided by ARPA-SIM are now also included.
During the annual meetings the performance of EFAS during the previous year is being reported, an update of EFAS developments are presented and future developments discussed with the partners. On recommendation of some EFAS partners an additional day for hands on training with probabilistic forecasting - both meteorological and hydrological - as well as the EFAS interface is taken place on the 30th.
Programme
Presentations
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Review on EFAS progress during 2008 J Thielen (EFAS) |
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Review of flood situation in 2008 with partners, feedback on EFAS information - Plenary (Tour de Table) |
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Progress on data collection projects: EU-FLOOD-GIS and ETN-R J Thielen and U Looser |
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Current status and future developments of the ECMWF ensemble system R Buizza |
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EFAS forecasts based on COSMO-LEPS - plenary discussion K Bogner |
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Update on operational EFAS developments A de Roo |
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New EFAS products - plenary discussion A de Roo |
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Perceiving and communicating probabilities J Thielen & R Hagedorn |
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Lecture on probabilistic weather forecasting R Hagedorn |
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| Visualising and communicating probabilistic results in National flood forecasting centres | |
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A global review F Pappenberger |
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Finland A Koistinen |
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Sweden C Edlund |
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The Netherlands E Sprokkereef |
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France Céline De Saint-Aubin |
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Hungary G Balint |
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Proceedings