1. Communication of weather information – National Weather Service role – single voice principle – European cooperation
Eric Petermann, Executive Director

2. Roles of weather services
Dissemination and outreach
User communities
Produce warnings
Produce products & services
Numerical Weather Prediction Models
Cooperate within European NWP
Operate national observing systems
Cooperate with European observing systems
Constitute national Climate datasets
Cooperate with European Climate community
Produce climate services
Dissemination and outreach

3. Roles of weather services
User communities
Operate national observing systems
Cooperate with European observing systems

4. Roles of weather services
User communities
Numerical Weather Prediction Models
Operate national observing systems
Constitute national Climate datasets
Produce climate services
Dissemination and outreach

5. Roles of weather services
Dissemination and outreach
User communities
Produce products & services
Numerical Weather Prediction Models
Cooperate within European NWP

6. Roles of weather services
Dissemination and outreach
User communities
Produce warnings

7. Principles and new challenges
A vision statement that can be valid for all National Weather Services :
Helping your country to be weather and climate prepared
Forecasts or products have little or no value if users don’t know what they mean to them
Simple transposition from threshold to warning is insufficient
120 km/h gusts ?
40mm of rain in 12 hours ?
The concept of impact-based warnings has appeared
Communicate on the probable impacts as much as on (if not more than) the phenomenon itself
Different audience = different message
Met Service is part of an overall decision-making process
Impacts being the result of multiple causes, criteria for issuing warnings are becoming multidimensional

8. Impact-based warnings and services
I/B warnings cannot be simple transpositions of forecasts
They translate a forecast situation into a risk assessment
Multi-hazard means that we use a common framework (or system) regardless of the hazard
The same severe weather phenomenon can lead to flooding, coastal submersion, landslides, health issues, disruption of critical infrastructure, etc…
I/B warnings require further understanding and additional information
On the end-users’ own processes
Knowledge about vulnerabilities to severe weather
In the digital age, information comes from multiple sources
How credible are these sources ? What is the end-user’s quality requirement ? How are these sources assessed ?

9. Authoritativeness of warnings
Authoritativeness is a key principle
Warnings are about safety of life and property, a State duty
A publicly owned and regulated entity like a National Meteo/Hydro Service will avoid conflicts of interest
Single-voice means there are no potentially conflicting stories coming from multiple sources (who may have vested interests) and which may end up blurring the picture
Full control of the value chain from science to operational sustainability to producing services is key
To consolidating authoritativeness (single-voice principle)
To credibility and trust
Ensuring operational delivery is an integral part of National Met/Hydro Services’ DNA. Regulators should build on such an asset.

10. European Meteorological Infrastructure
World Meteorological Organisation - Europe
ECMWF : global
Numerical Weather Prediction
National meteorological (and hydro) services
ECOMET : data provision, interface with private sector
Limited Area Modelling consortia
e.g. HIRLAM, ALADIN
EUMETNET : Cooperation in observations, forecasting, climate
EUMETSAT : operates meteorological satellites (low orbit and geostationnary)

11. 31 EUMETNET Members (2018) EIG (Economic Interests Grouping) members
Austria
Belgium
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Rep.
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Luxemburg
Malta
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
The FYROM
Switzerland
United Kingdom
6 Cooperating met services : Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania.

12. Cooperation in Europe
Meteoalarm is the most visible example of Europe-wide cooperation on warnings

13. Cooperation in Europe

14. Contact Details Eric Petermann Executive Director GIE/EIG EUMETNET
European Meteorological Services' Network
GIE EUMETNET Secretariat
c/o L’Institut Royal Météorologique de Belgique
Avenue Circulaire Bruxelles, Belgique
Registered Number RPM Bruxelles
Tel:      +32 (0) Fax:     +32 (0)