Areas of expertise:

• Post processing of Met Office and  ECMWF ensemble forecast data
• Ensemble tropical cyclone forecasting
• Automated warning systems

Current activities

Piers works as a scientist within the ensemble applications group. Part of his job is to work in a team that develops the MOGREPS (Met Office) and PREVIN ( ECMWF-data) ensemble display systems. These products are used by forecasters at the Met Office to provide probabilistic forecasts in the short and medium ranges. He regularly liaises with forecasters to obtain feedback and develop new product ideas.

He is responsible for the automated first guess early warning system which uses  ECMWF data to provide Met Office forecasters with early warnings of severe weather. He also maintains the tropical cyclone tracking software for the forecasting of new and existing tropical cyclones up to 15 days ahead. These products are disseminated to many of the  WMO RSMCs that issue tropical cyclone bulletins and warnings for different parts of the world.

He assists in the production of ensemble products for international projects for forecasting severe weather in other parts of the world. In particular he has provided products for severe rainfall, strong winds and tropical cyclones for the  WMO SWFDP in the Southern Africa and South Pacific regions.

Career background

Piers joined the Met Office in late 2004 where he initially worked in the mesoscale model development and diagnostics team. Here he worked on various project including the beginnings of the AQUM, air quality forecasts in the unified model project, before joining the ensembles group in 2007. Prior to working at the Met Office, Piers worked for 7 years as a post doctoral and post graduate research scientist at the chemistry department, King's College London, the ISIS neutron facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the physics department, Bristol University where he gained his PhD. He has 10 refereed publications in the area of neutron and X-ray diffraction studies of disordered materials. As an undergraduate, he studied for 4 years, also at Bristol, attaining an MSci qualification in physics.