Research weathering the storm

The Irish Research Council and Met Éireann have today announced a partnership to highlight research underway in Ireland on meteorological issues and the impact of research on weather forecasting. Well-know weather forecaster Evelyn Cusack was on hand in Met Eireann to help launch the initiative.

Throughout the month of December, the two organisations will highlight research underway in Ireland on meteorological issues and the impact of research on weather forecasting.

Commenting on the collaboration, Director of the Council, Peter Brown said: “With the advent of professional meteorology services over the past century, it has been shown that research has a key role to play in weather forecasting, and in the development of tools to record and measure the impact of weather conditions. 

“At the Irish Research Council, we fund a range of researchers whose work focuses on weather, climate and related issues.  Throughout December, we are delighted to be partnering with Met Éireann to showcase these researchers, and the links between our two organisations.”

The Director of Met Éireann, Eoin Moran added: “Met Éireann’s research and development is driven by the imperative of serving society by protecting life and property and promoting well-being. Accordingly, engaging in focused meteorological and climatological research to maintain state-of-the-art predictive capacity is a core strategic objective for us. Also of course developing forecasting systems which help the public manage weather impacts is an important area of research for us in the next few years. We are delighted to be now partnering with the Irish Research Council in highlighting meteorological and climatological research in Ireland.”

“Met Éireann is Ireland’s primary centre of knowledge and expertise on weather and climate; the leading provider of meteorological information and services in the State. It supports and participates in targeted research projects relevant to the provision of meteorological and climate services in Ireland. National research on climate data rescue and participation in a range of international weather and climate research networks, including EC-Earth (Climate Research Consortium) and ERA4CS (European Research Area for Climate Services) are examples of our research.”

Eoin Moran echoed the words of Peter Brown: “I am proud to highlight with the Irish Research Council the importance of meteorological and climatological research in Ireland and delighted to further strengthening the links with the Council.”

Pictured at the launch of a partnership between the Irish Research Council and Met Éireann were:

• Peter Brown, Director of the Irish Research Council;
• Dr Emily Gleeson, Meteorologist at Met Éireann;
• Eoin Moran, Director of Met Éireann;
• Evelyn Cusack, Deputy Head of Forecasting at Met Éireann; and
• Dr Saji Varghese, Head of Research, Environment and Applications at Met Éireann.