EDIPI (European weather Extremes: DrIvers, Predictability and Impacts) is an international consortium of universities, research centres and private companies aiming to further our understanding of temperature, precipitation (incl. drought) and surface wind extremes over Europe.

One of EDIPI’s key goals is to train a cohort of 14 weather extreme experts, who combine a physical understanding of high-impact weather extremes with a practical knowledge of predictability tools and an appreciation of user-relevant information required by the private sector. EDIPI is funded under the European Commission’s H2020-MSCA-ITN programme.

More information about the project can be found here.

Accuracy of forcasts of the atmosphere decrease with time due to various sources of error, mainly that of the initial conditions, the temporal growth of which is rapid. Furthermore the predictability limit (for a given error amplitude) depends on the underlying atmospheric conditions. A key question of atmospheric forecasting is therefore to better understand the link between predictability limit and atmospheric situation, so as to be able to estimate the uncertainty of the forecast.

The project aims to investigate instability properties in a hierarchy of coupled ocean-atmosphere systems. In particular, to investigate the properties of the extremely unstable climate situations, the corresponding properties when transitions occur between states, and the impact of climate change on predictability of extreme events. Specific applications to blocking situations and to windstorm activities will be explored. Dynamical instabilities in the atmosphere relate directly to forecast errors.

Ms Anupama K. Xavier, PhD Canditate

Dr. Stéphane Vannitsem, supervisor at RMIB

Dr. Thomas Gilbert, supervisor at ULB