• The study and understanding of the dynamics of severe weather events over the Mediterranean
• The operational weather forecasting
• The role of assimilation of special data (including satellite data) in NWP models in order to improve their forecast accuracy at mesoscale and local scale
• The study of the lightning activity and the microphysical structure of precipitating systems over the Mediterranean
• The role of global climatic changes on the regional climate over the Mediterranean.

The NWP Group is responsible for the implementation, updating and operational use of two state-of-the-art, high-resolution numerical weather prediction models:

• BOLAM (a hydrostatic model developed at ISAC-CNR, Italy)
• MM5 (a non-hydrostatic model developed at PSU/NCAR, USA)

Operational weather forecasting was initiated in IERSD/NOA in 1999. The operational models provide today the more detailed weather forecasts issued in Greece covering :

• The greek territory with a grid incremnet of 6.5 km x 6.5 km
• The Attica peninsula and Saronic Gulf with a grid incremnet of 2km x 2km

Operational weather forecasts are provided in the following web pages:

• http://www.noa.gr/forecast (displaying forecasts from BOLAM and MM5 models, links to observations, verification results, monthly meteorological bulletins)
• www.meteo.gr (displays weather forecasts in Greek covering 160 Greek cities and 30 points over the Greek seas)
• www.eurometeo.gr (displaying weather forecats for 600 European cities and 150 points over the European seas)

All three web pages serve daily about 25000 visitors.

• "Improvement of prediction capabilities of atmospheric and climatic parameters at local/regional scale in the eastern Mediterranean". Excellence in the Research Institutes supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology - ÉERSD/NOA, budget: 500000 Euro, duration: 2002-2005.
• "Rainfall estimation by satellites and combined use with numerical weather prediction models", Joint research and technology programmes, Greece-Italy, GSRT, budget: 20500 Euro, duration: 2003-2004.
• "Improvement of weather forecasts related to high-impact weather over the central and eastern Mediterranean'. NATO/CCMS pilot study, GSRT, budget: 16000 Eeuro, duration: 2003-2004.