Weather Archives - Engagement and Impact

Explaining flood forecasts to save lives

Hundreds of people died from disastrous floods in Europe in 2021, despite scientists alerting the authorities days ahead. Reading hydrologists, who designed Europe’s flood warning system, spoke out immediately about...Read More >

Weather Forecasting Innovation

Through a 40-year partnership with The European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) we are advancing understanding of weather and climate, training the next generation of climate scientists and…Read More >

Storm assessments no longer ‘all at sea’

Intense windstorms can wreak havoc on land and offshore. Researchers in the University of Reading’s Meteorology Department have pioneered the use of climate modelling and storm tracking to support evidence-based...Read More >

Weather Rescue

Between 1883 and 1904 a group of Victorian meteorologists lived in a stone hut at the summit of Ben Nevis, observing the weather every hour of every day and night….Read More >

Spiralling upwards

Climate scientist Ed Hawkins has made a big difference to the understanding of a vital contemporary issue: the upward spiralling of global temperatures. Dr Hawkins analysed the past 165 years of…Read More >

Sting jets

In the early hours of the 16 October 1987, a now infamous storm caused a swathe of damage across southeast England and northern France, resulting in the deaths of 18...Read More >

Storm tracking

Research on tracking storms has been used to develop a storm-tracking and analysis software package, known as TRACK. This has found widespread applications, particularly in weather forecasting, climate model development...Read More >