World Meteorological Organization

WMO-Measurement Lead Centre on Precipitation Intensity - “Benedetto Castelli” (Genova, Vigna di Valle and Monte Cimone, Italy)

The WMO-Measurement Lead Centre on Precipitation Intensity (LC-PrIn) dedicated to Benedetto Castelli is a Centre of Excellence for instrument development and testing with the purpose of:

• providing Members with specific guidance and standard procedures about instrument calibration and their achievable accuracy,
• performing laboratory and field tests and the intercomparison of instruments, and
• providing research advances and technical developments about the measurement of precipitation intensity and the related data analysis and interpretation.

The Measurement Lead Centre is a joint initiative of the Italian Air Force and the University of Genova (Italy), and operates on three different sites:

• Laboratory for instruments testing and calibration in controlled conditions, located at the University of Genova,
• Field site for rainfall intensity (RI) measurements, characterized by a Mediterranean climate with intense, prolonged rainy periods, located in Vigna di Valle (Rome) at the Technical Centre for Meteorology (CTM) of the Italian Air Force,
• Mountain site, envisaged for solid precipitation measurements, characterized by snowy periods and harsh climate conditions, located on the top of Mont Cimone mountain (2163 m amsl), in the hearth of the northern Apennines, operated by the Air Force Mountain Centre (CAMM).

42.08 °N; 12.211 °E (CTM)

44.194 °N; 10.7°E (CAMM)

CTM: Csa (hot summer continental climate)

CAMM: ET (tundra climate)

Aeronautica Militare - Centro Tecnico Meteorologia
Air Force Technical Centre for Meteorology (CTM)
Via R. Giacomelli, 2, 00062 Bracciano – loc. Vigna di Valle (Rome), Italy

Further Site and Programme Details, Current Projects and Recent Publications