7 October 2014: The Sultanate of Oman and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) sponsored a workshop to improve operational tropical cyclone forecasting and warning, through the provision of training for forecasters using the most current techniques.

The WMO/Oman International Workshop on Dvorak Technique and Tropical Cyclone Forecasting was held from 28 September to 2 October 2014, at the Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman.

The workshop was geared towards meteorologists who have had practical experience in operational tropical cyclone forecasting, and addressed state-of-art technologies in operational tropical cyclone forecasting, with particular focus on the Dvorak technique, which is used for tropical cyclone intensity estimation. It is a statistical correlation between cloud banding and tropical cyclone intensity and while it is considered the best technique available, the Dvorak Technique is complex and can be subjective.

Thirteen participants from seven of the eight members of the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC), and 25 local participants, attended the workshop. In addition, two participants each from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar also attended. A WMO representative, an Omani and other experts made presentations during the workshop. [WMO Press Release]