Abdullah Kahraman

Senior Researcher

Dr. Kahraman is an atmospheric scientist specializing in mesoscale meteorology, with a background spanning weather forecasting, numerical modelling, severe convection research, and teaching. His graduate work focused on the climatology and predictability of severe convective storms and associated hazardous phenomena such as tornadoes and large hail. He joined the Water Group at Newcastle University in 2019 to investigate future changes in convective weather hazards across Europe. He is primarily based at the Met Office Hadley Centre in Exeter (within Climate Processes and Projections team), where he uses high-resolution climate simulations alongside a range of observational datasets. His recent research has revealed substantial increases in slow-moving, intense rainstorms—implying a greater potential for flash flooding— along with strong regional variability in lightning changes across Europe. His work also suggests a decrease in the frequency of European hailstorms, though with complex uncertainties linked to shifts in hail size distributions and the emergence of a new, warmer thunderstorm type. Currently, Dr. Kahraman’s research focuses on responses of other convective weather hazards to anthropogenic climate change, and their multi-scale drivers. He also contributes to multidisciplinary research efforts, e.g. through the DARe Hub.