Storm-centered infrared (IR) imagery of tropical cyclones (TCs) is related to the 850-hPa mean tangential wind at a radius of 500 km (V500) calculated from 6-hourly global numerical analyses for ...North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific TCs for 1995–2011. V500 estimates are scaled using the climatological vortex decay rate beyond 500 km to estimate the radius of 5 kt (1 kt = 0.514m s−1) winds (R5) or TC size. A much larger historical record of TC-centered IR imagery (1978–2011) is then used to estimate TC sizes and form a global TC size climatology. The basin-specific distributions of TC size reveal that, among other things, the eastern North Pacific TC basins have the smallest while western North Pacific have the largest TC size distributions. The life cycle of TC sizes with respect to maximum intensity shows that TC growth characteristics are different among the individual TC basins, with the North Atlantic composites showing continued growth after maximum intensity. Small TCs are generally located at lower latitudes, westward steering, and preferred in seasons when environmental low-level vorticity is suppressed. Large TCs are generally located at higher latitudes, poleward steering, and preferred in enhanced low-level vorticity environments. Postmaximum intensity growth of TCs occurs in regions associated with enhanced baroclinicity and TC recurvature, while those that do not grow much are associated with west movement, erratic storm tracks, and landfall at or near the time of maximum intensity. With respect to climate change, no significant long-term trends are found in the dataset of TC size.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A method to estimate objectively the surface wind fields associated with tropical cyclones using only data from multiple satellite platforms and satellite-based wind retrieval techniques is ...described. The analyses are computed on a polar grid using a variational data-fitting method that allows for the application of variable data weights to input data. The combination of gross quality control and the weighted variational analysis also produces wind estimates that have generally smaller errors than do the raw input data. The resulting surface winds compare well to the NOAA Hurricane Research Division H*Wind aircraft reconnaissance–based surface wind analyses, and operationally important wind radii estimated from these wind fields are shown to be generally more accurate than those based on climatological data. Most important, the analysis system produces global tropical cyclone surface wind analyses and related products every 6 h—without aircraft reconnaissance data. Also, the analysis and products are available in time for consideration by forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the National Hurricane Center in preparing their forecasts and advisories. This Multiplatform Tropical Cyclone Surface Wind Analysis (MTCSWA) product is slated to become an operationally supported product at the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS). The input data, analysis method, products, and verification statistics associated with the MTCSWA are discussed within.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A new and improved method for estimating tropical-cyclone (TC) flight-level winds using globally and routinely available TC information and infrared (IR) satellite imagery is presented. The ...developmental dataset is composed of aircraft reconnaissance (1995–2012) that has been analyzed to a 1km × 10° polar grid that extends outward 165 km from the TC center. The additional use of an azimuthally average tangential wind at 500 km, based on global model analyses, allows the estimation of winds at larger radii. Analyses are rotated to a direction-relative framework, normalized by dividing the wind field by the observed maximum, and then decomposed into azimuthal wavenumbers in terms of amplitudes and phases. Using a single-field principal component method, the amplitudes and phases of the wind field are then statistically related to principal components of motion-relative IR images and factors related to the climatological radius of maximum winds. The IR principal components allow the wind field to be related to the radial and azimuthal variability of the wind field. Results show that this method, when provided with the storm location, the estimated TC intensity, the TC motion vector, and a single IR image, is able to estimate the azimuthal wavenumber 0 and 1 components of the wind field. The resulting wind field reconstruction significantly improves on the method currently used for satellite-based operational TC wind field estimates. This application has several potential uses that are discussed within.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A large sample of Atlantic and eastern North Pacific tropical cyclone cases (2005-10) is used to investigate the relationships between lightning activity and intensity changes for storms over water. ...The lightning data are obtained from the ground-based World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). The results generally confirm those from previous studies: the average lightning density (strikes per unit area and time) decreases with radius from the storm center; tropical storms tend to have more lightning than hurricanes; intensifying storms tend to have greater lightning density than weakening cyclones; and the lightning density for individual cyclones is very episodic. Results also show that Atlantic tropical cyclones tend to have greater lightning density than east Pacific storms. The largest lightning density values are associated with sheared cyclones that do not intensify very much. The results also show that when the lightning density is compared with intensity change in the subsequent 24 h, Atlantic cyclones that rapidly weaken have a larger inner-core (0-100 km) lightning density than those that rapidly intensify. Thus, large inner-core lightning outbreaks are sometimes a signal that an intensification period is coming to an end. Conversely, the lightning density in the rainband regions (200-300 km) is higher for those cyclones that rapidly intensified in the following 24 h in both the Atlantic and east Pacific. When lightning density parameters are used as input to a discriminant analysis technique, results show that lightning information has the potential to improve the short-term prediction of tropical cyclone rapid intensity changes.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology (RAMM) Advanced Meteorological Satellite Demonstration and Interpretation System (RAMSDIS) was developed as part of an effort to get high quality digital ...satellite data to field forecasters prior to the deployment of the satellite component of the National Weather Service (NWS) Modernization Program. RAMSDIS was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service RAMM Team. RAMSDIS has made significant contributions to NOAA’s satellite training and technology transfer program. The project has had a major impact on the utilization of digital satellite data, both nationally and internationally, providing the sole source for high-resolution digital satellite data at some NWS Forecast Offices (FOs) since 1993. In addition to its use in the FO, RAMSDIS has also provided data distribution and research capabilities on a common platform to several NOAA laboratories, allowing for more efficient collaboration on digital satellite data applications and analysis tools, and has been used by the World Meteorological Organization in an effort to provide digital satellite data to developing countries in Central America and the Caribbean.
The RAMSDIS project was innovative for many reasons. This article describes the unique approaches that made the project a success and details RAMSDIS utilization within the NWS and NOAA. The next phase of RAMSDIS implementation in the international meteorological community is also described.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Visible satellite imagery is widely used by operational weather forecast centers for tropical and extratropical cyclone analysis and marine forecasting. The absence of visible imagery at ...night can significantly degrade forecast capabilities, such as determining tropical cyclone center locations or tracking warm-topped convective clusters. This paper documents ProxyVis imagery, an infrared-based proxy for daytime visible imagery developed to address the lack of visible satellite imagery at night and the limitations of existing nighttime visible options. ProxyVis was trained on the VIIRS day/night band imagery at times close to the full moon using VIIRS IR channels with closely matching
GOES
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16
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17
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18
,
Himawari
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8
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9
, and
Meteosat
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9
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11
channels. The final operational product applies the ProxyVis algorithms to geostationary satellite data and combines daytime visible and nighttime ProxyVis data to create full-disk animated GeoProxyVis imagery. The simple versions of the ProxyVis algorithm enable its generation from earlier GOES and Meteosat satellite imagery. ProxyVis offers significant improvement over existing operational products for tracking nighttime oceanic low-level clouds. Further, it is qualitatively similar to visible imagery for a wide range of backgrounds and synoptic conditions and phenomena, enabling forecasters to use it without special training. ProxyVis was first introduced to National Hurricane Center (NHC) operations in 2018 and was found to be extremely useful by forecasters becoming part of their standard operational satellite product suite in 2019. Currently, ProxyVis implemented for
GOES
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16
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18
,
Himawari
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9
, and
Meteosat
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9
/
10
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11
is being used in operational settings and evaluated for transition to operations at multiple NWS offices and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
Significance Statement
This paper describes ProxyVis imagery, a new method for combining infrared channels to qualitatively mimic daytime visible imagery at nighttime. ProxyVis demonstrates that a simple linear regression can combine just a few commonly available infrared channels to develop a nighttime proxy for visible imagery that significantly improves a forecaster’s ability to track low-level oceanic clouds and circulation features at night, works for all current geostationary satellites, and is useful across a wide range of backgrounds and meteorological scenarios. Animated ProxyVis geostationary imagery has been operational at the National Hurricane Center since 2019 and is also currently being transitioned to operations at other NWS offices and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The increasing use of mobile phones (MPs) equipped with digital cameras and the ability to post images and information to the Internet in real time has significantly improved the ability to report ...events almost instantaneously. From the perspective of weather forecasters responsible for issuing severe weather warnings, the old adage holds that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words; a single digital image conveys significantly more information than a simple web-submitted text or phone-relayed report. Timely, quality-controlled, and value-added photography allows the forecaster to ascertain the validity and quality of storm reports. The posting of geolocated, time-stamped storm report photographs utilizing an MP application to U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) social media pages has generated recent positive feedback from forecasters. This study establishes the conceptual framework, architectural design, and pathway toward implementation of a formalized photo report (PR) system composed of 1) an MP application, 2) a processing and distribution system, and 3) the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System II (AWIPS II) data plug-in software. The requirements and anticipated appearance of such a PR system are presented, along with considerations for possible additional features and applications that extend the utility of the system beyond the realm of severe weather applications.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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