A HIRLAM Workshop on Physical Processes took place on 11-13 November, 1998. This was generously hosted by INM, and was held in the opulent setting of the Palacio Zurbano in Madrid. The three areas covered in the workshop were (a) Clouds and Convection, (b) Turbulence Schemes and (c) Surface parameterisation. A total of 38 scientists participated in the workshop. The invited experts were Kerry Emanuel, MIT (Convection), Peter Bechtold, LA, Toulouse (Turbulence) and Pedro Viterbo, ECMWF (Surface Schemes). UKMO and DWD also accepted invitations to participate.

The first session, on Condensation and Convection, opened with a review by Kerry Emanuel. This was followed by talks by Thor Erik Nordeng, Bent Hansen Sass, José Antonio García-Moya, Javier Calvo, Stephen Cusack and Geert Lenderink. The second session, on Turbulence, began with a review paper by Peter Bechtold. There were also presentations by Veniamin Perov, Niels Woetman-Nielsen, Markku Rummukainen, Bert Holtslag, Joan Cuxart, Matthias Raschendorfer, Martin Best, Geert Lenderink, Jacobo Orbe and Per Kållberg. The third session, on Surface Processes, started with an invited paper by Pedro Viterbo, which was followed by talks by Ernesto Rodríguez, Simo Järvenoja, Juan José Ayuso, Eric Bazile, Björn Bringfelt, Martin Best, Alberto Fernandez, José Picatoste and Han The. Sten Bergström ended the programme with a thought-provoking talk on soil treatment from a hydrological perspective.

On the final morning, three Working Groups, met to consider the evidence and draw up recommendations for future work, both short and long term. They were chaired by Peter Bechtold (Condensation), Bert Holtslag (Turbulence) and Pedro Viterbo (Surface Processes). The rapporteurs were, respectively, Bent Hansen Sass, Niels Woetman-Nielsen and Ernesto Rodríguez. The proceedings of the workshop, with extended abstracts of all the talks and summaries of the conclusions and recommendations of the Working Groups, will be published shortly.

During a meeting recess, participants were treated to a tour of the Palacio Zurbano. The palace, built at the end of the last century, was the birth-place of Fabiola de Mora y Aragón, later Queen of Belgium. The ballroom in which our meeting took place is decorated with carved wooden columns and ornate plasterwork painted in gold leaf. The ceiling painting is a celestial scene with miscellaneous mythological motifs. Large mirrors enhance the spaciousness and elegance of the room. The building is maintained by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, and is made available for important and prestigious events. The HIRLAM scientists, many of whom trace their origins back to the Noble Houses of Europe, felt completely at home in this aristocratic yet congenial venue.

The Programme for the meeting (postscript version) gives a good indication of the comprehensive scope of the workshop. The Management Group of HIRLAM is very grateful to the organisers, and especially to José Antonio García-Moya, for their hard work in preparing for this very valuable, enjoyable, successful and memorable meeting.