Andrew McNaughton
Andrew is a research scientist working in the Nowcasting R&D team.
Areas of expertise
- Nowcasting
- Convective cell tracking
- Software development and maintenance
- Data analysis and visualisation
Current activities
Andrew currently works in the Nowcasting R&D team, developing observation-based tools to aid in the nowcasting and situational awareness of hazards related to convection in the UK. He is the lead developer of the Met Office cell tracking system. This system uses 3D reflectivity data from the UK radar network to track and forecast thunderstorms. Current work includes improving the parameterisation of the underlying Kalman Filter model to produce more accurate probabilistic forecasts. Additionally, further work is ongoing to improve the usability of the system by Operational Meteorologists as well as research into the generation of thunderstorm warnings on a smaller scale than the current Met Office NSWSS framework.
Andrew is also involved in the operationalisation of the Nowcasting team’s surface mesoanalysis software. This model blends NWP output with various surface observations including crowd sourced data from the Met Office WOW network providing a more localised picture of surface conditions, which can be important in forecasting where convection may initiate.
Career background
Andrew joined the Met Office in August 2022 and has been working in the Nowcasting R&D team in Weather Science since then.
Prior to joining the Met Office, Andrew completed his BSc in Mathematics from the University of Glasgow in 2019. He then went on to study for an MSc in Atmosphere & Ocean Dynamics, provided by the Institute of Climate and Atmospheric Science (ICAS) at the University of Leeds. After university, Andrew worked for 1.5 years in the sustainability sector where he developed methods and visualisations to help large organisations and governments track their environmental impact.