Enhancing meteorological report access and response time: How the Meteorological Service of Catalonia addresses the rise in weather-related claims

In recent years there has been an increase in the interest and number of users demanding meteorological data. From individuals to private companies and public administrations, the Climate Services Team (CST) of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia is responsible for addressing this surge in data requests. Among these inquiries, weather-related insurance claims have been particularly prominent, monopolizing a significant portion of the team’s operational time in preparing these on-demand reports and lengthening the response time. 

A web application tool has been developed to streamline the process of weather report generation. This application integrates a wide range of data into a user-friendly interface, including derived remote-sensing products (radar rainfall estimation and hail probability) and data retrieved from automatic and manual weather stations. Consolidating all this information in a single interface simplifies the process of determining which data are the most representative for a given municipality and date. Meteorological certificates can also be generated from the same application and are then freely available on the SMC website. 

Furthermore, an algorithm that combines daily wind gust, rainfall rate and accumulated precipitation with population data has been formulated. This algorithm identifies the municipalities from which it is most likely to receive weather insurance-related requests in the upcoming days. This proactive approach allows the CST to anticipate the influx of requests and prepare all potential weather data certificates that may be requested for each locality well in advance, using the previously mentioned application tool, even before affected individuals request them. 

This new operational workflow has not only significantly reduced response time but also enhanced the representativeness of the data provided for each municipality and weather event. It has also improved the accessibility for end-users, who need only to choose their locality from the SMC website and all available weather data certificates can be downloaded for free.