Wiener Neustadt, Austria, 15.07.2024

Europe needs Twisters campaign

Researchers from all over Europe are organising high-density measurements of severe storms. Similar to the new film Twisters, the plan is for mobile storm chasing teams to collect essential weather data directly from storms.

This is planned to be ground-breaking. Severe weather researchers from 14 European countries want to work together to get to the bottom of severe thunderstorms so that they can provide better warnings in future. To this aim, they are currently planning the largest European measurement campaign on severe thunderstorms to date. “We want to use the latest technologies, such as weather drones. To do this, it is extremely important that mobile measurement teams get very close to the storms. This is the only way to gather the crucial information,” says Alois Holzer, initiator of the European “TIM” measurement campaign to start in 2026.

As can be seen in the new movie Twisters, the European research teams will also be tackling the storms with the newest generation of weather sensors. “In contrast to some scenes in the entertainment film Twisters, however, the highest safety standards apply in our research campaign, and we have also made a joint commitment to responsible behaviour with regard to the environment and the local population,” emphasises Alois Holzer, Director of Operations of the European Severe Storms Laboratory ESSL in Wiener Neustadt.

While the basic scientific structure is to be financed through traditional research funding, the project is still looking for major donors for the individual mobile measurement teams. Alois Holzer says with a twinkle in his eye: “We hope that the kind of support from major donors possible in North America can also be achieved in Europe. We are also in dialogue with various public authorities.”

The urgency of being able to better understand and predict severe weather, and thus to strengthen civil defence, is certainly given, as the frequent severe weather events show. The measurement campaign will focus on hailstorms, flash flood events, dangerous squalls and tornadoes. In the past year alone, severe thunderstorms have caused 524 fatalities in Europe, as reported by the ESSL.

The ESSL is an independent, non-profit research institute based in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria. It also operates the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) and is a European leader in the training of meteorologists in the field of severe weather warnings. A year ago, the ESSL established the International Fujita Scale (IF-Scale) as a new standard for categorising tornado damage.

This press release is under embargo for re-publishing until: Wednesday, 17 July 2024, 00:00 UTC

LINKS:

European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL):         www.essl.org
TIM Field Campaign:                                                  www.tim-campaign.eu

LIVE EXPERT TALK:

The TWISTERS expert talk will take place on Tuesday, 16 July 2024:

	English Expert Talk	11:30 CEST Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Madrid	10:30 WEST London, Lisbon
	German Expert Talk	12:00 CEST Vienna, Rome, Berlin, Paris, Madrid	11:00 WEST London, Lisbon

Attendance:

	On-site participation:	ESSL Research and Training Centre Bräunlichgasse 6a A-2700 Wiener Neustadt, Austria	Registration required via: tim@essl.org
	Online Participation:	Microsoft Teams live event	Registration via: Microsoft Teams Event