|
Electronics
and Electrotechnics Industry:
Precise information about local weather
General weather forecasts will soon be a thing of the past.
When the precise weather service comes, it will be possible
to explain “Local showers in southern Finland”
much more precisely: “Rain will start in the centre
of Helsinki at 14.30 and last until 18.00 – the total
rainfall will be 5 mm”.
A dense weather observation network makes it possible to
gather unique new information about extreme phenomena in the
weather and about the place and time of the variation in their
strength. Observations are made of weather phenomena, e.g.
rain and thunder, which typically happen in an area of 2–20
kilometres and last from a few minutes to some hours.
Launched in 2005, Helsinki Testbed is a joint project between
Vaisala, which specializes in products for environmental and
industrial measurement, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute
with their co-partners. The project combines research, ICT
and new meteorological observation systems.
In addition to more precise local weather forecasts, the
dense weather observation network can be used for developing
atmospheric quality forecasts and modelling a wide variety
of atmospheric processes. Areas of application include transport
on the ground, at sea and in the air, managing emergency-response
incidents, agriculture and leisure-time activities and hobbies.
A significant sub-area is nowcasting: forecasts for a few
minutes or few hours, warnings and managing accident situations.
Photo: The precise weather information service, which
has aroused great international interest, underwent its first
practical testing at the World Championships in Athletics
in Helsinki in 2005.
Published 2006
|
.
Finnfacts is part of