12-16 September 2016 / Thessaloniki, Greece
Every September since 2013, the University of Thessaloniki has organised international satellite meteorology training workshops.
Held in Thessaloniki, the one-week Autumn School on the use of satellite data in studying and forecasting extreme weather events and in nowcasting severe convection and precipitation, is always successful. It is attended by more than 80 participants, from 20 countries, consisting of forecasters, staff scientists, and post-graduate students from the National Meteorological Services and universities.
The training workshops are mainly addressed to forecasters from south-eastern European and North African countries. Participants are shown new developments in satellite meteorology, focusing on the use of processes, principles, practices, tools and products for nowcasting and short-range forecasting high impact weather, such as storms, cyclones, tornadoes, heatwaves, and droughts.
In 2016, a week before the workshop, a flash flood hit Thessaloniki, and the hotel’s ground floor was flooded. This case was processed with McIDAS-V and discussed in detail during the workshop. Also, during the week, some interesting storms developed around the Thessaloniki area, which were also discussed during the course. The date of the workshop is well-chosen as at that time of the year there is usually a lot of convection over the Mediterranean.