Fields of interest

Daily forecasts

EVERY DAY WE DEAL WITH WEATHER FORECASTS, AVALANCHES AND WARNINGS

Weather forecasts

Every day our meteorologists prepare weather forecasts tailored to the complex Alpine environment of the Aosta Valley, which an automatic model (used in almost all commercial apps) is not able to interpret correctly. Our meteorologists, on the other hand, use many mathematical models, balancing the strengths and weaknesses of each one, exploiting their knowledge of the region. In addition to the forecast for the upcoming days, they provide also weekly, monthly and high mountain-specific forecasts.

Snow and avalanche forecasts

With the support of the Fondazione Montagna Sicura, we produce information and analysis regarding the snow sphere and, in particular, the snow and avalanche bulletin. This bulletin defines and predicts the avalanche risk during the winter period in Aosta Valley.

Civil Protection alerts

Every day we evaluate and issue civil protection alertsfor extreme weather phenomena (wind, severe cold, thunderstorms, snow, etc.), for landslides spread over the region, for floods and for avalanches. Our engineers and geologists have therefore built and calibrated models that reproduce the water cycle to predict landslides and floods and models that simulate the behaviour of the snowpack for the prediction of avalanches in man-made areas. This information is summarized in a bulletin. In case of an alert, the bulletin is sent to the mayors, and made available to all citizens through different platforms. Alerts are issued using the colour code: yellow, orange and red.

Observation of the environment

WE COLLECT AND PROCESS DATA

Data collection

We manage a network of about 100 weather stations that collect real-time data such as air temperature, precipitation, wind speed, etc., and transmit them to the server every 10 minutes. They are made available for all our activities and, in general, for all users and services that need them. In addition, we collect and organize information about instabilities and avalanches that occur in the area. This information is collected from a dense network of sources, including the Forestry Corp, the Fire Brigade and the Alpine Guides.

Climate

We compare the data collected by weather stations (temperatures, precipitation, wind speed, etc.) with historical data on a daily basis, to understand and identify climatic anomalies in our region. In collaboration with the Cima Foundation, Fondazione Montagna Sicura and Arpa, we participate in climatological studies, aimed at estimating how precipitation, temperatures, snow and other variables that characterize the water cycle in the Aosta Valley will evolve in the coming decades.

Prevention

WE BUILD STRATEGIES TO MANAGE LOCAL RISKS

We build and update civil protection plans, i.e. those "user manuals" that define procedures, means and operational models to manage specific risks from the point of view of prevention, forecasting and emergency management. Examples of plans we are looking at are the flood management plan, the dam management plan (in support of the dam office), the seismic plan, and the radiological plan.

In addition to regional planning, we support municipalities in the drafting of regional civil protection plans both through targeted meetings and through the creation of IT platforms for the production of the maps necessary for risk management.

Dissemination

WE DISSEMINATE INFORMATION TO BUILD A MORE AWARE NETWORK OF CITIZENS

An activity in which we strongly believe is the dissemination of issues related to meteorology and hydrogeological and avalanche risks. We do this by addressing specific categories, such as journalists and hoteliers, mountain guides, tourist guides, who in turn can be bearers of information.

We pay particular attention to students of all levels because the children themselves spread information, knowledge and skills acquired to their families.

We take care of educational activities for the general population through the dissemination of the platform CasaePericoli, which summarizes the two fundamental concepts of civil protection: knowing if your home is located in a point subject to danger and, if so, what you have to do.