An ozone initialization scheme has been developed for short-term simulations of the northern hemisphere ozone field with the General Circulation Model ''Arp¿ge''of M¿t¿o-France; the scheme follows largely the one proposed by Riishojgaard et al. (1992) and uses a combination of meteorological analyses, satellite total ozone measurements and statistical analysis of ozone profiles. We took advantage of the large number of ozonesondes launched during the EASOE campaign to verify and even improve the statistical treatment of ozone profiles. This, in conjunction with the use of potential vorticity to delimit the polar vortex, has allowed a more accurate representation of the initial ozone field inside the polar vortex. The scheme is tested by simulating an ozone ''mini-hole'' event which developed over northern Europe in late January 1992. The ozone field forecast by the model is compared with satellite measurements and soundings. The results indicate the occurrence of a strong meridional intrusion of ozone-poor air coming from subtropical latitudes over northern Europe during the last days of January. The strength and large extent of this poleward advection account for most of the reduction observed in lower stratospheric ozone content. ¿American Geophysical Union 1994