European Severe Storms Laboratory facts for kids
ESSL logo
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| Abbreviation | ESSL |
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| Predecessor | TorDACH |
| Formation | 12 August 2006 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | advance research on extreme weather events on a European level |
| Location |
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Region served
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Europe |
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Official language
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English |
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Director
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Pieter Groenemeijer |
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Treasurer and Director of Operations
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Alois M. Holzer |
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Main organ
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General Assembly |
| Website | ESSL |
The European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) is a science group that studies strong weather events. This includes powerful convective storms, tornadoes, heavy precipitation (rain or snow), and avalanches. They study these events across Europe and the Mediterranean region. ESSL also runs a very important database called the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD).
Contents
What is ESSL and what does it do?
The European Severe Storms Laboratory started in 2002. It was a group of scientists who wanted to learn more about severe storms in Europe. In 2006, it became a non-profit organization. This means it works for a good cause, not to make money.
ESSL focuses on extreme weather that affects many countries in Europe. It's a bit like the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in the United States. Some ESSL members also help with the European Storm Forecast Experiment (ESTOFEX). This group gives daily forecasts for severe storms.
The main goals of ESSL are:
- To do more research on severe storms and extreme weather in Europe.
- To run and improve the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD).
- To help organize the European Conferences on Severe Storms.
ESSL's cool projects and research
European Severe Weather Database (ESWD)
The European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) collects information about many types of extreme weather. This includes dust devils, tornadoes, large hail, heavy rain or snow, strong wind gusts, and damaging lightning strikes. It also collects reports on avalanches. The ESWD is the most important database for these events in Europe.
Anyone can report extreme weather they see. Each report is checked for accuracy. Reports are given a quality code:
- QC0 means the report was received.
- QC0+ means it's likely true, but some details might be missing.
- QC1 means the report has been confirmed by a reliable source.
- QC2 means the event has been studied by scientists and confirmed.
European Weather Observer (EWOB)
The European Weather Observer (EWOB) is a project that collects real-time weather reports. It's similar to a project called Mping in the US. People can send in reports using the EWOB app. Scientists use this information to improve how they predict severe weather. Human observations are very important. They help scientists understand what satellites and radars see compared to what's actually happening on the ground. EWOB was launched on December 15, 2015. It helps forecasters know quickly if a storm is causing damage or if roads are freezing.
European Conference on Severe Storms (ECSS)
The European Conference on Severe Storms (ECSS) is a meeting organized by ESSL every two years since 2002. Scientists and experts come together to share their research. Two special awards are given at the ECSS:
- The Heino-Tooming-Award honors great scientific work on severe storms done by European teams.
- The Nikolai Dotzek Award celebrates outstanding individual scientific achievements.
ESSL Testbed
The ESSL Testbed is an event that happens every year. Its goal is to make severe weather forecasting better across Europe. Weather forecasters have many tools to help them predict storms. But sometimes, these tools are not used in the best way. The Testbed brings together forecasters and the people who create these tools. They work together in a practice setting. Developers show their tools, and forecasters give feedback. This helps everyone learn and improve how they predict extreme weather. The ESSL Testbed was inspired by a similar program in the US.
Understanding severe weather and climate change
ESSL is part of a research network called ClimXtreme. They have a project called CHECC. This project studies how severe weather events like hail, strong winds, and tornadoes might change with climate change. These events cause a lot of damage and can be dangerous.
Scientists use special computer models and data to study past weather. They want to see if severe weather has become more common in Europe. The CHECC project uses newer, more detailed weather data. This helps them make their models even better. They also look at more weather reports from old media archives. This helps them train their models more accurately.
The project also uses these models to see if there are clear trends in severe weather. They look at both past weather and future climate predictions. They also try to understand what causes these changes.
International Fujita scale
The International Fujita scale (IF scale) is a way to measure how strong a tornado or other wind event is. It's based on how much damage it causes. ESSL and other groups like the German Weather Service use this scale. It's similar to the Fujita and Enhanced Fujita scales used in the US. However, the IF scale is designed to work better internationally. It considers differences in how buildings are made in different countries.
The first version of the IF-scale was released in 2018. Many tornadoes have been rated using this scale. For example, the 2021 South Moravia tornado was rated IF4. ESSL and other groups studied the damage from this tornado. In 2023, an updated version of the scale was released. The first official version of the IF scale was published in late July 2023.
Automatic Severe Weather Prediction (AR-CHARMO)
On July 27, 2022, ESSL launched a website with experimental forecasts. These forecasts predict lightning and hail for Europe. They use advanced computer models to make these predictions.
How ESSL is organized
ESSL has two main offices. One is in Weßling, near Munich in Germany. The other is in Wiener Neustadt in Austria. Both offices work very closely together.
Many important groups are members of ESSL. These include national weather services like the German DWD and the ZAMG in Austria. Research institutes, like the German Aerospace Center, are also members. Scientists from all over the world who are interested in severe weather research can also join.
See also
- Skywarn Europe
- TORRO
- ESTOFEX
- NSSL
