Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?

Abstract The radius of maximum wind (RMW) defines the location of the maximum winds in a tropical cyclone and is critical to understanding intensity change as well as hazard impacts. A comparison between the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) models and two statistical models based off th...

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Main Authors: Benjamin C. Trabing, Andrew B. Penny, Jonathan Martinez, Cody Fritz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-06-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109663
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author Benjamin C. Trabing
Andrew B. Penny
Jonathan Martinez
Cody Fritz
author_facet Benjamin C. Trabing
Andrew B. Penny
Jonathan Martinez
Cody Fritz
author_sort Benjamin C. Trabing
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The radius of maximum wind (RMW) defines the location of the maximum winds in a tropical cyclone and is critical to understanding intensity change as well as hazard impacts. A comparison between the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) models and two statistical models based off the National Hurricane Center official forecast is conducted relative to a new baseline climatology to better understand whether models have skill in forecasting the RMW of North Atlantic tropical cyclones. On average, the HAFS models are less skillful than the climatology and persistence baseline and two statistically derived RMW estimates. The performance of the HAFS models is dependent on intensity with better skill for stronger tropical cyclones compared to weaker tropical cyclones. To further improve guidance of tropical cyclone hazards, more work needs to be done to improve forecasts of tropical cyclone structure.
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spelling doaj-art-52c69790b80e45cf9bdcc698da1db5a12025-08-20T03:10:21ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-06-015112n/an/a10.1029/2024GL109663Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?Benjamin C. Trabing0Andrew B. Penny1Jonathan Martinez2Cody Fritz3CPAESS/UCAR Boulder CO USACPAESS/UCAR Boulder CO USANOAA/NWS/National Hurricane Center Miami FL USANOAA/NWS/National Hurricane Center Miami FL USAAbstract The radius of maximum wind (RMW) defines the location of the maximum winds in a tropical cyclone and is critical to understanding intensity change as well as hazard impacts. A comparison between the Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) models and two statistical models based off the National Hurricane Center official forecast is conducted relative to a new baseline climatology to better understand whether models have skill in forecasting the RMW of North Atlantic tropical cyclones. On average, the HAFS models are less skillful than the climatology and persistence baseline and two statistically derived RMW estimates. The performance of the HAFS models is dependent on intensity with better skill for stronger tropical cyclones compared to weaker tropical cyclones. To further improve guidance of tropical cyclone hazards, more work needs to be done to improve forecasts of tropical cyclone structure.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109663tropical cycloneradius of maximum windsHAFSnumerical weather prediction models
spellingShingle Benjamin C. Trabing
Andrew B. Penny
Jonathan Martinez
Cody Fritz
Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
Geophysical Research Letters
tropical cyclone
radius of maximum winds
HAFS
numerical weather prediction models
title Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
title_full Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
title_fullStr Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
title_full_unstemmed Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
title_short Are Forecasts of the Tropical Cyclone Radius of Maximum Wind Skillful?
title_sort are forecasts of the tropical cyclone radius of maximum wind skillful
topic tropical cyclone
radius of maximum winds
HAFS
numerical weather prediction models
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109663
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AT jonathanmartinez areforecastsofthetropicalcycloneradiusofmaximumwindskillful
AT codyfritz areforecastsofthetropicalcycloneradiusofmaximumwindskillful