Invited perspectives

Author(s)

, Jannick Fischer, Pieter Groenemeijer, Alois Holzer, Monika Feldmann, Katharina Schröer, Francesco Battaglioli, Lisa Schielicke, Tomáš Púčik, Bogdan Antonescu, Christoph Gatzen, Dino Zardi, Martin Adamovsky, Clotilde Augros, Ulrich Blahak, Vojtěch Bližňák, Stephan Bojinski, Tobias Bölle, François Bouttier, Massimiliano Burlando, Xavier Calbet, Federico Canepa, Orietta Cazzuli, Alessandro Ceppi, Fleur Couvreux, Kálmán Csirmaz, Tamás Csonka, Stavros Dafis, Mária Derková, Francesco Domenichini, Grzegorz Duniec, Raquel Evaristo, Tomáš Fedor, Massimo Enrico Ferrario, Michael Frech, Enrico Gambini, Jaroslav Hofierka, Ákos Horváth, Adam Jaczewski, Vinzent Klaus, Zsófia Kocsis, Kornél Komjáti, Michael Kunz, Máté Kurcsics, Robert Kvak, Konstantinos Lagouvardos, Katharina Lengfeld, Marco Mancini, Marc Mandement, Olivia Martius, Stefano Serafin

Abstract

Severe thunderstorms are among the most damaging and impactful weather phenomena. In Europe, notable clusters occur in the vicinity of complex terrain. These areas not only experience frequent thunderstorms but also show a strong climate change signal with an increasing storm frequency. Despite the relevance of the subject, our understanding of severe convection in complex terrain, particularly in a changing climate, remains incomplete. This White Paper presents the current state of the research on thunderstorms in complex orography, covering storm severity, modification of pre-storm environments, convection initiation, storm-scale interactions with complex terrain, impactful hazards, numerical modeling and forecasting, climatologies and climate change signals, and innovative storm observations. Highlighting the gaps in our understanding, this review underscores the need for a coordinated European field campaign on thunderstorm intensification from mountains to plains (TIM). Initial plans for the TIM campaign, developed by the participating authors and institutions of this article, are briefly outlined. Obtaining coordinated and dense data on orographically driven storms is a key step toward improving warnings, forecasts, future climate projections, and adaptation measures.

Organisation(s)

Department of Finance, Department of Meteorology and Geophysics

External organisation(s)

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, European Severe Storms Laboratory, European Severe Storms Laboratory e.V., Universität Bern, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, University of Western Ontario, University of Bucharest, Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory, Università degli Studi di Trento, Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Meteorological Service of Germany, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CAS UFA), Hamtec Consulting GmbH, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Università degli Studi di Genova, Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (AEMET), Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Lombardia (ARPA Lombardia), Politecnico di Milano, Hungarian Meteorological Service, National Observatory of Athens, Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Regional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of the Veneto (ARPA Veneto), National Research Institute Poland (IMGW), Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

Journal

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Volume

25

Pages

2629-2656

No. of pages

28

ISSN

1561-8633

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2629-2025

Publication date

08-2025

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

105206 Meteorology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/69f167ad-5a9e-48e2-a27f-bdd2ddbd7a2a