MedCyclones: Working together towards understanding Mediterranean cyclones

Experts from 16 countries and International Organisations gathered in Athens for the 1^st MedCyclones Workshop and Training School from 27^th of June to 2^nd of July 2022 to present and discuss the scientific progress on the topic of Mediterranean cyclones. The Workshop and Training School, funded by the European network for Mediterranean cyclones in weather and climate (MedCyclones COST Action CA19109), was organized by the Department Geology and Geoenvironment and the Department of Physics of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA).

For three days, the historical Main Building of the NKUA became the center of world-wide scientific collaboration, where the most recent research results in understanding of the processes and impacts of the Mediterranean cyclones, and in their monitoring and forecasting from weather to climate time scales were presented. About a hundred of academic researchers, professionals from weather/climate services and international stakeholders established highly efficient networking and collaborations that will lead to new and advanced research initiatives towards addressing several open scientific questions from cyclones classification to environmental impacts and from model intercomparison and convection permitting simulations to operational forecasts.

The 1st MedCyclones Training School brought together 10 world-class trainers with 35 PhD students, early career investigators and scientists from meteorological agencies. Over six days, intensive courses, hands-on training, and interactive discussions on weather-time scale aspects of Mediterranean cyclones took place at the Main Building and the newly renovated gem of NKUA, the Library of Law School.

The upcoming MedCyclones Workshop and Training School will take place in Toulouse, France, in 2023, upholding the standards set by the current organization in Athens 2022.