HRD Monthly Science Meeting of October 2021

October's science meeting consisted of six presentations: Xiaomin Chen: A Framework for Simulating the Tropical-Cyclone Boundary Layer Using Large-Eddy Simulation Sim Aberson: Sally:  An Aborted Attempt to Form an Aligned Vortex Kathryn Sellwood: Assimilation of Coyote Observations with HWRF GSI Jon Zawislak: Summary of NASA's CPEX-AW Field Campaign Lisa Bucci: Comparison of Aeolus Observations to NOAA Dropsondes Kyle Ahern: How were …

Study on improving tropical cyclone forecasts by improving the way turbulence near the surface is modeled published in the Journal of Geophysical Research

This paper shows that correctly representing the details of processes in model physics schemes can lead to big forecast skill improvement (up to 10 kt).  The large number of cases provide confidence in the results.  Summary: The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the lowest part of the atmosphere, typically within about 1 km of the Earth’s surface. …

Study on small-scale vortices near the surface in tropical cyclones published in Scientific Reports

The full paper can be accessed at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97766-7.pdf. For more information, contact aoml.communications@noaa.gov.Jie Tang and Xiaotu Lei were supported by the Key Program for International S&T Cooperation Projects of China (No. 2017YFE0107700), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41475060 and 41775065) and the ESCAP/WMO EXOTICCA Project. Jun Zhang was supported by NOAA grant NA19OAR0220186 …

Study showing the impact of turbulence in computer forecasts of hurricanes released online in The Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Summary:  Turbulence is made up of random and continuously changing wind.  It is important in tropical cyclones because turbulence in the lowest 1-2 km of the atmosphere (the planetary boundary layer or PBL) and in clouds affects tropical cyclone intensity and structural change. Meteorologists use computer models to forecast the weather, including tropical cyclones.  These …

Study on how to improve model forecasts of the region closest to the ocean surface released online in The Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Summary:  Turbulence is made up of random and continuously changing wind.  It is important in tropical cyclones (TCs) because turbulence in the lowest 1-2 km of the free atmosphere (the planetary boundary layer or PBL) affects TC intensity and structural change. Meteorologists use computer models to forecast the weather, including TCs. These models forecast the …

HRD Monthly Science Meeting of July 2021

July's science meeting consisted of five presentations: Sophie Grimsley (Lapenta Intern): "Project Check-in: Hurricane Intensity Change and Boundary Layer Processes" Nick Mesa (Lapenta Intern): "Investigating Intensity Changes Related to Thermodynamic Processes Using Near-coincident Aircraft and Satellite Observations" Laura Ko: "A Consensus Machine Learning Model for Hurricane RI Probabilistic Predictions" Sim Aberson: "Including High-Resolution AMVs in …

HRD Monthly Science Meeting of June 2021

June's science meeting consisted of six presentations: Nick Mesa (HRD): “Investigating intensity changes related to thermodynamic processes using near-coincident aircraft and satellite observations” Sophie Grimsley (HRD): “Hurricane Intensity Change and Boundary Layer Processes” Chris Landsea (NHC): "Was 2020 a Record-Breaking Hurricane Season?  Yes, but… (Why did the new average number of Named Storms go up …

Latest edition of AOML Keynotes now available

Articles include information on the testing of the Altius-600 uncrewed aircraft in hurricanes, an overview of different boundary-layer techniques in hurricane models, new hurricane model systems, Nancy Griffin's retirement after 40 years of government service, and a tribute to Bob Kohler. Read Keynotes at https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Jan-Mar-2021-AOML-Keynotes-Newsletter-2.pdf?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=january-march-2021&utm_campaign=keynotes

Jun Zhang participates in 2nd Boundary Layer Workshop

The 2nd Boundary Layer Workshop was held virtually on 1-2 June. The goal of the workshop is to continue the work from the previous one to improve our understanding and modeling of surface and atmospheric boundary layer processes. The event was organized by Tilden Meyers of NOAA's Air Resource's Laboratory and David Turner of NOAA's …

HRD scientists participate in the 34th American Meteorological Society Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology

34th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology Virtual Meeting The 34th AMS Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology was held virtually 10-14 May after being postponed from 2020. This is the premiere meeting for operational and research scientists who work on understanding and forecasting tropical cyclones and other tropical weather around the world. HRD scientist …