TIM | The Science

Decoding the mechanisms
behind severe storms

It may be surprising, but the processes leading to severe storms and their interaction with nearby mountain ranges are not fully understood.
In this unique field measurement campaign, scientists from all over Europe are working together to understand such mechanisms.

Join THE CAMPAIGN

Why TIM?

Severe thunderstorms cause massive damage, loss of life and injuries every year. Many of these convective events - even those that occur in the plains - are influenced by nearby mountain ranges.
Hail reports from by the European Severe Weather Database (ESWD) show maxima in these transition zones (see graphic).

www.eswd.eu

Why a European campaign?

According to research, Europe is one of the global hotspots for the increase in severe convective events. Studies show that hail frequency has increased by up to 200% in some European regions. TIM wants to help identify the reasons for these shifts in the vicinity of European mountain ranges.

See: Battaglioli, F., Groenemeijer, P., Púčik, T., Taszarek, M., Ulbrich, U., & Rust, H. (2023). Modeled Multidecadal Trends of Lightning and (Very) Large Hail in Europe and North America (1950–2021). Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 62(11), 1627-1653.

LINK

GRAPHICS:
Europe Map: Change of seasonal number of hail hours (hail ≥ 5 cm) between 1950 and 2021.

Stripes: Modelled timeseries of lightning for Northern Italy and Central Oklahoma (USA).

(c) Francesco Battaglioli et al. 2023

Conceptual model

Thunderstorms are complex systems. At TIM we aim to understand the interactions between severe storms & complex topography and under which conditions extreme events are occuring.

Figure: Pieter Groenemeijer

Scientific questions

(excerpt)

Testing the added value of measuring systems and new nummerical weather prediction (NWP) models near complex terrain for storm monitoring and forecasting.

Find out how mountains modify the environment to promote tornado genesis.

Identify processes leading to local enhancement of conditions for large hail near mountain chains.

Understand and assess new MTG cloud, lightning and moisture products.

Understand under which conditions back-building and flash-flood producing convection occurs.

How do super-cooled droplets at high altitude and thunderstorm-induced windshear hazards influence aviation safety in the vicinity of severe storms?

TIM partners

Excerpt of our partners and supporters

TIM* - EXPLORING THUNDERSTORMS

TIM, the European Field Measurement Campaign on Severe Storms, will take place from 2026 to 2028, a three year period of intense observations and measurements.

Mobile teams and fixed observation sites will be equipped with the newest sensor generations and technologies, to gather important data of extreme thunderstorms.

This data will be provided to the scientific world and be available for future generations of researchers.

*TIM = Thunderstorm Intensification from Mountains to Plains

THE SCIENCE

Decoding the mechanismsbehind severe storms