A Tool for Remote Detection and Nowcasting of In-Flight Icing Using Satellite Data

In-flight icing is a major weather hazard to aviation; therefore, the remote detection of meteorological conditions leading to icing is a very aspired goal for the scientific community. In 2017, the Meteorological Laboratory of CIRA has developed a satellite-based tool for in-flight icing detection in collaboration with Italian Air Force Meteorological Service. Then, in the framework of the European project SENS4ICE, a further maturation of the previously developed algorithm has been achieved, in order to consider also Supercooled Large Drop (SLD) Icing Conditions. The tool relies on high-resolution satellite products based on Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) data. The aim of this product is to identify areas potentially affected by in-flight icing hazard, using information about the properties of clouds, remotely inferred from satellite, and the set of experimental curves and envelopes describing the interrelationship of icing-related cloud variables, that represent the icing reference certification rules, namely Appendix C and Appendix O to FAA 14 CFR Part 25 / EASA CS-25. Furthermore, starting from this detection product, a nowcasting tool has been developed with the aim to perform a forecast of the current icing conditions over a short period ahead. In the present work an overall description of the implemented tools for detection and nowcasting of icing conditions is provided. These tools will be used during the SENS4ICE flight test campaign, to be held in April 2023, which represents a good opportunity to validate them and to identify steps for future enhancements.