Internship – Blending of Rainfall Nowcasts and Forecasts
Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) are crucial to effectively prevent any floods from happening or to reduce the impact of floods. One of the main challenges of FEWS are flash floods caused by small-scale intense precipitation events which are difficult to forecast for NWP models. Instead, radar-based deep-learning nowcasts have shown to provide improved skill in forecasting these events. However, nowcasts are only skilful up to 2 hours ahead, while decision makers ideally need information 4 hours ahead minimum. Recently, a new technique has been developed to aim to provide the best possible forecast for these 2-8 hours ahead: Blending
With blending, a nowcast is combined with a short term NWP forecast (0-48h). This has the advantage of using the current up to date information of the nowcast, while providing also the longer term trends of the NWP forecast. Recently, Imhoff et al (2023) released the most sophisticated blending method to date, showing promising results over Belgium.
Internship Scope
The aim of this internship would be to integrated the blending technique of Imhoff et al., 2023 with the state-of-the-art deep-learning based DGMR nowcasting model and optimizing it as much as possible.
Key responsibilities
• Prepare all datasets for the blending procedure, DGMR nowcast data and short-term NWP forecast data, and allocate training data.
• Integrate the blending technique to create a seamless forecast of nowcast, blended forecast and NWP forecast.
• Validate the blending method and optimize where possible.
• Deliver the blending code in such a way that it is usable and scalable by Weather Impact.
Who are you?
We are looking for a student with excellent study results, who wants to be challenged in data-driven modelling, simulation and optimization, while using big datasets of radar and NWP model outputs. You are following a MSc study of Meteorology, Physics, Technical Geosciences or comparable at an University in the Netherlands.
• You have excellent programming skills (Python)
• You love data analytics
• You think independently of creative solutions
• You have good communication and writing skills in English
Weather Impact
Weather Impact is a Dutch company specialized in weather and climate services. We operate worldwide and provide advice and operational services to the agricultural and business sectors. Our innovative tools allow users to assess weather and climate impacts and make effective decisions to reduce risks. We are experts in data management, analytics and algorithms. We also provide training to support local partners in the sustainable continuation of the service. We actively work with NGOs, government organizations and research institutes to support climate adaptation.
What do we offer?
We are a young company with a dedicated team of colleagues, working in an international setting. Our office is located in an historic building near the city centre of Amersfoort and at walking distance from Amersfoort Central Station. You will receive a monthly allowance, we provide all ICT and office facilities needed for the study, as well as excellent coffee!
Interested?
For more information about Weather Impact, please check www.weatherimpact.com. If you have any questions concerting this vacancy, please contact Joep Bosdijk at +31 (0)33 4753535. To apply, please send a CV, mark list and motivation letter to info@weatherimpact.com.
