A WebGIS Application for Cloud Storm Monitoring

Extreme weather phenomena (i.e. heavy precipitation, hail and lightings) frequently cause damages in properties and agricultural production and usually originate from the cloud storms. Automated systems able to provide timely and accurate monitoring and predictions would contribute to prevent the effects of physical disasters and reduce economic losses. Nowadays, meteorological satellites have a significant role in weather monitoring and forecasting, providing accurate and high resolution data. Such data can be analyzed using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and modern web technologies to develop integrated automated web based monitoring systems. This study describes a WebGIS application focused on monitoring and forecasting cloud tops of storm evolution. The application has developed using modern tools, to exploit their features through an innovative web based monitoring system. There are used open source framework to ensure mobility, stability and portability of the application.

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