Medium-Range Weather Prediction
Austin Woods
Medium-Range Weather Prediction The European Approach The story of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
Forewords by Professor Anton Eliassen, President of the ECMWF Council, Dominique Marbouty, Director ECMWF, and Professor Francesco Fedi, President of the COST Committee of Senior Officials
With 19 Figures, 9 in Full Color
Austin Woods European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Shinfield Park Reading, Berkshire, RG2 9AX United Kingdom
[email protected]
Cover illustration: Satellite illustration: © 2005 EUMETSAT; METEOSAT image: © 2005 EUMETSAT Library of Congress Control Number: 2005930025 ISBN-10: 0-387-26928-2 ISBN-13: 978-0387-26928-3
e-ISBN 0-387-26929-0
Printed on acid-free paper. © 2006 Springer Science+ Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed is forbidden. The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights. Printed in the United States of America. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springeronline.com
(WW)
Foreword from the President of the ECMWF Council — Prof. Anton Eliassen
Meteorologists have long recognised the need for greater co-operation between the different European states. Eventually, in 1967, following an initiative from the Council of the Commission of the European Communities, at the time a community of only six countries, a group of visionaries drew up a list of scientific and technical challenges in which “the possibility of international co-operation could be discussed”. By the end of that year, a proposal had been made for the establishment of a “European Meteorological Computing Centre”. This far-sighted initiative lead to setting up the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which on 1 November 2005 reaches its 30th anniversary. I am proud of ECMWF. I can say with confidence that all those who have been associated with this most successful scientific and technical European organisation share this pride. Under the guidance of the Council and its Committees, and with the hard work of its talented and capable staff, the Centre has achieved much of what was envisaged. It has developed areas of research and applications that could not have been foreseen at the time of its establishment. The public has become accustomed on Monday or Tuesday to being presented with a normally reliable outlook for the coming weekend’s weather. Thirty years ago, this would not have been possible. The Centre’s mediumrange predictions have been of benefit at times of natural disaster, for commercial activities, in planning power supply, in planning sporting and marine activities, and much more. ECMWF is a fine example of the advantages of international co-operation in