%0 Journal Article
%T INCA-CE: a Central European initiative in nowcasting severe weather and its applications
%A A. Kann
%A G. Pistotnik
%A B. Bica
%J Advances in Science and Research (ASR)
%D 2012
%I Copernicus Publications
%R 10.5194/asr-8-67-2012
%X The INCA-CE (Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis ¨C Central Europe) project aims at implementing a transnational weather information system as well as applications for different socio-economic sectors to reduce risks of major economic damage and loss of life caused by severe weather. Civil protection and also stakeholders from economic sectors are in a growing need of accurate and reliable short-term weather forecasts. Within INCA-CE, a state-of-the art nowcasting system (INCA) is implemented at weather services throughout the European Union's CE (Central Europe) Programme Area, providing analyses and short term forecasts to the aforementioned end-users. In a coherent approach, the INCA (Integrated Nowcasting through Comprehensive Analysis) system will be adapted for implementation and use in a number of partner countries. Within transregional working groups, the gap between short-term weather information and its downstream activities in hydrological disaster management, civil protection and road management will be bridged and best practice management and measure plans will be produced. A web-based platform for outreach to related socio-economic sectors will initiate and foster a dialogue between weather services and further stakeholders like tourism or the insurance sector, flood authorities for disaster management, and the construction industry for cost-efficient scheduling and planning. Furthermore, the project will produce a compact guideline for policy makers on how to combine structural development aspects with these new features. In the present paper, an outline of the project implementation, a short overview about the INCA system and two case studies on precipitation nowcasts will be given. Moreover, directions for further developments both within the INCA system and the INCA-CE project will be pointed out.
%U http://www.adv-sci-res.net/8/67/2012/asr-8-67-2012.html