Chair Report

Appendix 2
RECOMMENDATIONS ON FORECASTERS’ REQUIREMENTS
It has been obvious that weather forecasters were enthusiastic in contributing in this
COST project. We had 102 questionnaires filled.
Three priority areas were determined: 1) Model related requirements, 2) Requirements on
observations and measurements, 3) Climatological requirements.
1) MODELS
(i) More useful products are required from the models regarding visibility
and low cloud. There are requirements for presentations in terms of cross
sections and finer vertical resolution maps. Also, forecasters require that
they have diagnostic fields (e.g. visibility, low cloud base, low cloud tops,
low cloud amount, low cloud phase e.g. freezing conditions).
(ii) Improved model performance is another requirement put forward by
forecasters. In particular forecasters are interested in improving the
performance of boundary layer models. They also require that boundary
layer models have higher vertical resolution.
2) OBSERVATIONS AND MEASUREMENTS
With regard to existing observations forecasters require:
(i) Higher density and more frequent observation to be available (both
spatially and temporary).
(ii) SYNOP, METAR, TEMP and satellite information to become more
frequently updated.
With regard to additional observations forecasters require:
(i) Observations from video cameras, profilers, satellite with “fog channel”,
satellite with higher resolution imagery, ceilometers, cloud radar, additional
visibility measurements, net radiation.
(ii) The frequency with which these additional observations would be
provided ranges from 0 to 15 minutes.
More issues are related to:
(i) Better information is required by the forecasters in understanding these
observations (especially on new platforms) , on the one hand, and in the
forecasting methods that make use of them, on the other hand. The latter is
related to a requirement for better understanding on the capabilities of
models used.
(ii) More automatic weather stations reporting humidity and temperature.
(iii) There is a particular requirement for more observations over the sea.
(iv) Improve the exchange of information between different states: more
information but also more quickly.
3) CLIMATOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS
(i) Not enough sites have climatological information. More climatological
information is required and in particular information is need for more sites.
(ii) The information may be available but access to it is not easy, so there is
a demand that, if the climatological information is available, to be presented
to the forecasters.