Diabatic processes across scales in the extratropics 

Dates and Location

28 April – 1 May 2026 (directly before EGU in Vienna)
Hotel Klaus im Weinviertel, Wolkersdorf near Vienna

The workshop is jointly organized under the auspices of the Working Group on Predictability, Dynamics and Ensemble Forecasting of the WMO’s World Weather Research Programme and the International Commission on Dynamic Meteorology of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences.

Workshop scope and themes

Most of our fundamental theories for the large-scale atmospheric circulation in the extratropics are based on “dry” atmospheric dynamics. However, our fundamental understanding of the impact of diabatic processes on a range of spatial and temporal scales has significantly improved over the recent decades. This includes the impact of diabatic processes on blocking, Rossby wave propagation and breaking, extratropical and subtropical cyclones, polar lows, jets, and tropical-extratropical interactions among many others. Despite these recent efforts, large uncertainties in representing diabatic processes and their impact remain, leading to upscale error growth and enhanced ensemble spread, highlighting the continued need to further our understanding and to develop new and revise existing paradigms.

Addressing these important research questions requires a large community effort of weather and climate dynamicists, modellers, and observationalists, who can profit from an invigorated mutual exchange. Providing opportunities for these sometimes-disparate research communities to come together is critical for enhancing collaboration and our understanding of how diabatic processes impact various scales and change in a warmer, moister atmosphere. 

The workshop focuses on the impact and implications of different diabatic processes on the dynamic evolution of meso- to planetary-scale weather systems, including cross-scale interactions and geographic linkages.  We welcome contributions based on theory, observations, and modelling (including AI), and in particular the linkages between them. Implications of resolving and understanding diabatic processes on predictability on all timescales is also of high relevance. 

Confirmed invited speakers

• Michael Riemer, University of Mainz, Germany
• Hanna Joos, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• Andrew Winters, University of Colorado Boulder, United States
• Annika Oertel, KIT, Germany
• Ambrogio Volonte, University of Reading, United Kingdom
• Talia Tamarin-Brodsky, MIT, United States

Scientific organising committee

• Thomas Spengler, University of Bergen (lead), Norway
• Thando Ndarana, University of Pretoria (lead), South Africa
• Michael Barnes, Monash University (lead), Australia
• Suzanne Gray, University of Reading, United Kingdom
• Heini Wernli, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
• Michelle Reboita, Universidade Federal de Itajubá, Brasil
• Mark Rodwell, ECMWF, United Kingdom
• Nili Harnik, Tel Aviv University, Isreal
• Julian Quinting, KIT, Germany
• Andrea Lopez Lang, University of Wisconsin, United States
• Jianhua Lu, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
• Eigo Tochimoto, MRI JMA, Japan
• Ron McTaggert-Cowan, ECCC, Canada

Submit abstract via button below: Deadline 1 November 2025