The National Centre for Atmospheric Science is contributing to one of the most ambitious international weather research campaigns in recent decades – the TEAMx Observational Campaign. This large-scale initiative is focused on understanding how air moves through mountainous terrain and how weather systems in these complex regions connect to wider atmospheric patterns.

An intensive phase of observations begins this month (16 June – 25 July), with measurements taking place at over 15 sites across the Inn and Adige valleys, the Sarntal Alps, and the Bavarian foothills. Three research aircraft will join drones, weather balloons, and ground-based instruments to gather data on wind patterns, cloud formation, and moisture transport in the mountain atmosphere. This is only the second time in 25 years that a campaign of this scope has been carried out in the Alps.

The campaign brings together more than 25 institutions and over 200 scientists, including researchers and national weather services from across Europe. NCAS is supporting the campaign through its research aircraft facility, the FAAM Airborne Laboratory, and specialist expertise in ground-based and remote-sensing atmospheric observations.

Mountain weather is notoriously difficult to predict, due to the complex interaction between local terrain and broader weather systems. By collecting detailed, multi-scale data – from small-scale turbulence to planetary air circulations – TEAMx aims to improve weather forecasts, refine climate models, and better assess extreme weather risks in alpine regions.

The TEAMx campaign is coordinated by the University of Innsbruck and supported by the World Meteorological Organization. Find out more about the TEAMx project.