NOAA deploys new Altius drone into the eye of Hurricane Ian

Altius-600 uncrewed aircraft system being released from the NOAA WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft during a test flight in June 2022. Watch the video here. NOAA hurricane researchers have added a new tool to their toolbox. For the first time, an Area-I Altius-600 uncrewed aircraft system was deployed into a hurricane by scientists at NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic …

Study that uses buoy and tower data to improve how models forecast the interaction between the atmosphere and ocean in tropical cyclones released online in the Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans

Modeling the interaction between the atmosphere and the ocean is important for accurate forecasting of tropical cyclones, especially their intensities.  Because these interactions are so complex, we typically model these interactions using what we call parameterizations to estimate what is really happening.  One parameter, the drag coefficient, is the resistance between motions in the atmosphere …

Paper investigating the effects of grid resolution, horizontal turbulence models, and horizontal mixing length on real hurricane forecasts published online in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

Physical parameterizations in computer models need to consider the unique structures of tropical cyclones. The study helps us understand turbulent mixing to advance how we account for it in our forecast model parameterizations to improve forecasts. Summary: Tropical cyclones are fueled by the heat from the warm ocean below.  This heat energy moves upward into …

Study relating low-level wind flowing into the centers of tropical cyclones and intensification published in the Journal of Geophysical Research

This study uses the observations from Hurricane Hunter aircraft to investigate the inflow of warm, moist air into the tropical cyclone (TC) center that fuels the circulation.  Specifically, the inflow angle is the difference between the wind direction and the direction of a circular wind that does not flow into the center.  The study found …

Paper on coastal downwelling and hurricane intensification highlighted in EOS

You can read the article at https://eos.org/editor-highlights/landfalling-hurricanes-intensify-due-to-coastal-downwelling. For more information, contact aoml.communications@noaa.gov.

Article on wind and turbulence near the surface in landfalling tropical cyclones published in Nature Scientific Reports

This study examines the structure of the part of the atmosphere closest to the surface in a landfalling tropical cyclone (TC) using land-based tower observations. Turbulence is made up of random and continuously changing wind that mixes the atmosphere allowing the energy from the warm ocean below to move upward and fuel the hurricane.  Observations …

NOAA Hurricane Field Program begins with flights into Potential Tropical Cyclone 2 in the Tropical Atlantic

The NOAA flight season began early this year with an operational flight into a system, known as Potential Tropical Cyclone 2, that may soon develop into a tropical depression east of the Windward Islands. The plan for the season was recently released and is available online at https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/2022-hurricane-field-program/, and a kickoff meeting to discuss plans …

Latest version of AOML Keynotes available

Learn about the new William M. Lapenta Laboratory for the Hurricane and Ocean Testbed, the new Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System, the impact of Uncrewed Aerial Systems on hurricane forecasts, and more... The newsletter is available here.

New study on how landfalling hurricanes can change ocean temperatures near the coast causing the hurricane to intensify published in Geophysical Research Letters

This study uses a state-of-the-art hurricane modeling system developed at the NOAA/Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory’s Hurricane Research Division, the Basin-Scale Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast (HWRF-B) model, to demonstrate a link between an oceanographic process called coastal downwelling and the intensification of tropical cyclones (TCs or hurricanes) near landfall. We show that coastal downwelling …

News article about the Saildrone encounter with Category-4 Hurricane Sam last September appears in EOS

You can read the article at https://eos.org/features/an-unprecedented-view-inside-a-hurricane Fore more information, contact aoml.communications@noaa.gov.