Areas of expertise

• Weather impact modelling including the Hazard Impact Model (HIM).
• Rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility analysis.
• Deterministic and probabilistic weather forecasts.
• GIS and its application in risk and impact forecasting.

Current activities

Joanne works on forecasting the societal impacts and risks of severe weather and related hazards using NWP data. She has been developing the Met Office Hazard Impact Model (HIM) with a range of partners, including the British Geological Survey (BGS), Environment Agency (EA) and Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) as well as others organisations involved in the Natural Hazards Partnership (NHP). Her current focus is on forecasting the risks and impacts of  strong winds, landslides and surface water flooding (SWF) on the UK transport network. Joanne's current activities include:

• Development of a Global Hazard Map using ensemble forecast data to predict hazardous weather, including forecasts of tropical cyclones, heavy rain and strong winds.
• Development of the HIM, with a particular focus on making the Vehicle Overturning Model operational and integrating additional valuable parameters (such as ADAS and MORET wind throw model) into the HIM framework.
• Working with BGS to assess our ability to develop landslide susceptibility forecasting tools.
• Completing her PhD research, which reviews landslide activity in the context of synoptic rainfall patterns and tectonics in Papua New Guinea, with the aim of developing a landslide susceptibility forecasting tool for the region. This research is being completed with the Met Office, University of Leicester and the University of Papua New Guinea.

Career background

Joanne joined the Met Office in November 2007 after completing an MSc in Geophysical Hazards at University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Geography at the University of Sheffield. Joanne's first post at the Met Office was in the Post Processing and Impacts team, after which she moved to the Ensemble Forecasting Applications Group and is now in the newly formed Weather Impacts Group. Joanne is currently completing her PhD in Geology (landslide activity in the context of synoptic rainfall patterns and tectonics in Papua New Guinea) with the University of Leicester. She has also been given the opportunity to be a member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Societal and Economic Research Applications (SERA) working group. She has been an active member of this group since 2010.