Storm chaser Roman Laval and his team have just put online a weather forecast site for Aveyron and its neighboring departments. A tool that will allow us to prepare for violent phenomena, such as the hail episode of July 11, 2024, in the Decazeville basin.
This is a project that has been in progress for a year. “But the hailstorm of July 11 precipitated things.” The Decazeville storm chaser Roman Laval, his partner Amandine Joseph Edmond, Aude Bordes and Benjamin Delsol launched, on January 10, a weather forecast site for Aveyron and its neighboring departments.
“There will be vigilance cards for Lozère, Cantal, Lot, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, as well as Corrèze, because even if it is not border, we have the means to source this sector”explains the Decazeville resident. The goal: to understand and prevent the phenomena, “particularly in our territory since its geographical location exposes it to violent winds in spring and summer”. This new platform will be powered by “our own maps and information that people don’t see. Everything will then be simplified to allow easy reading”.
And the difference with current tools “like those of Météo France for example, which forecast on a departmental scale”is that this site aims to establish predictions by canton. “At first, this ultra-precision will be limited to Aveyron. Because once again, to return to the storms of July, the orange vigilance concerned the entire department, while 10 kilometers further from Decazeville it did not Nothing happened.”
To be as close as possible to reality, the maps will show the weather conditions for the next three hours to the next five days. “Our site is connected to satellites, which allows us to see what’s happening when it’s happening.” So, for each important episode, the team plans to meet 24 to 48 hours before to monitor and document the population as best as possible. “There will also be an observation part, a collaborative space where everyone can participate and help update.”
-A useful device for farmers
Roman Laval sees even further. “Eventually, we would like to become a certified association, to be able to cooperate with emergency services.” But behind this long-term work also lies the desire to support farmers. “Aveyron is a land conducive to this profession. It was important to set up a service that can serve the profession.” Benjamin Delsol, member of the project, son of a farmer and former agricultural worker, can only agree. “It will definitely make our job easier. We need precise, advanced and local weather forecasts to carry out our activity.”
For sowing periods, “It can really be useful. Concerning livestock as well. Even for our tools. On Firminois, we had some damage to our devices during the hail episode. Less than in Decazeville, but still. This site is a way to anticipate and it will allow us to find our account at all levels.”
France
Movies
