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Eye on the storm

3 June 2009

Accurately predicting the weather is a difficult feat, especially when it comes to predicting thunderstorms, but thanks to funding from the United States Monash researchers are on the case.

Professor Christian Jakob and Professor Michael Reeder from the School of Mathematical Sciences in the Faculty of Science have received close to A$1 million from the US Department of Energy's Office of Science to investigate thunderstorms and their standing in weather and climate prediction models.

The professors will use sophisticated computer models and data gathered during the 2006 Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment, which was co-led by Professor Jakob and involved a large number of Monash students.

Professor Jakob said the tropics were the engine room of the climate system, profoundly affecting the climate in other areas.

"Through this study we hope to gain a better understanding of the role of thunderstorms in the tropics, which will improve our understanding of climate and increase our ability to predict weather and climate," Professor Jakob said.

Both professors likened the accurate prediction of thunderstorms as one of the "holy grails" of atmospheric science.

"It really is an immense challenge, but through this study we hope to make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge about the nature of thunderstorms and how they are represented in climate models," Professor Reeder said.

The three-year research project is a continuation of long-standing research conducted by the professors and will be carried out in close collaboration with the University of Melbourne, the Bureau of Meteorology and the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in the US.