The 2000 Atlantic hurricane season is summarized and the year's tropical and subtropical cyclones are described. While overall activity was very high compared to climatology, with 15 cyclones attaining tropical (or subtropical) storm intensity, much of this activity occurred outside of the deep Tropics, over open waters north of 25°N. The season's tropical cyclones were responsible for 54 fatalities, with most of these occurring in Central America in association with Hurricanes Gordon and Keith.
Abstract The 2003 Atlantic hurricane season is described. The season was very active, with 16 tropical storms, 7 of which became hurricanes. There were 49 deaths directly attributed to this year’s tropical cyclones.
Hurricane Andrew of 1992 caused unprecedented economic devastation along its path through the Bahamas, southeastern Florida, and Louisiana. Damage in the United States was estimated to be $26 billion (in 1992 dollars), making Andrew one of the most expensive natural disasters in U.S. history. This hurricane struck southeastern Florida with maximum 1-min surface winds estimated in a 1992 poststorm analysis at 125 kt (64 m s−1). This original assessment was primarily based on an adjustment of aircraft reconnaissance flight-level winds to the surface. Based on recent advancements in the understanding of the eyewall wind structure of major hurricanes, the official intensity of Andrew was adjusted upward for five days during its track across the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico by the National Hurricane Center Best Track Change Committee. In particular, Andrew is now assessed by the National Hurricane Center to be a Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale category-5 hurricane (the highest intensity category possible) at its landfall in southeastern Florida, with maximum 1-min winds of 145 kt (75 m s−1). This makes Andrew only the third category-5 hurricane to strike the United States since at least 1900. Implications for how this change impacts society's planning for such extreme events are discussed.
Abstract The 2004 eastern North Pacific hurricane season is reviewed. It was a below-average season in terms of number of systems and landfalls. There were 12 named tropical cyclones, of which 8 became hurricanes. None of the tropical storms or hurricanes made landfall, and there were no reports of deaths or damage. A description of each cyclone is provided, and track and intensity forecasts for the season are evaluated.
Abstract The 2005 eastern North Pacific hurricane season is summarized, the individual tropical cyclones are described, and official track and intensity forecasts are verified and evaluated. The season’s overall activity was, by most measures, below average. While a near-average 15 tropical storms formed, many of them were relatively weak and short-lived. Seven of these storms became hurricanes, but only one reached major hurricane status (an intensity of 100 kt or greater on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale) in the eastern North Pacific basin. One of the hurricanes, Adrian, approached Central America in May but weakened to a tropical depression prior to landfall. Adrian was the only eastern North Pacific tropical cyclone to make landfall during 2005, and it was directly responsible for one fatality.
Omega dropwindsonde and other in situ (INS) data collected during the NOAA/Hurricane Research Division's (HRD) Hurricane Field Program are used as a ground truth dataset for the evaluation of VISSR Atmospheric Sounder (VAS) soundings over the subtropical Atlantic. The experiments were coordinated with the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Services at the University of Wisconsin. The focus of this study is to determine whether soundings derived from VAS radiances are an improvement over the first-guess data used as a starting point in the sounding retrieval process. First guess inputs for this study are provided by NMCs Regional Analysis and Forecast System (RAFS) nested grid model (NGM). In a case study, an objective algorithm is used to analyze the INS, VAS, and first-guess data at and below 500 mb from an HRD experiment on 1–2 September 1988. The case study is supplemented by a statistical investigation of data composited from other HRD experiments. In particular, we examine VAS estimates of horizontal temperature and moisture gradients to see if they represent improvements over the first guess. The temperature and moisture descriptions in the vicinity of a 500 mb cold low were improved by the VAS in the case study; however, VAS temperature gradients were found to be generally less accurate than those of the first guess. Temperature gradients from the VAS were also consistently stronger than INS or first-guess gradients. The composite study found that large-scale VAS moisture gradients were better than those of the first guess. Other results indicate a preferred mode for VAS modifications to the guess: the primary impact of the VAS radiances on the first guess was to improve the description of the phasing of horizontal features. The VAS representation of the amplitude of features, however, was not consistently an improvement. This suggests that in tropical applications, VAS data may be most suitable for subjective forecasting uses; if VAS data are to be used in numerical weather prediction, strongest weight should be given to the representation of the location of weather features (troughs, ridges, etc.), and relatively weak weight should be given to the representation of the strength of these features.
Abstract The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season is summarized, and the year’s tropical and subtropical cyclones are described. Fifteen named storms, including six “major” hurricanes, developed in 2004. Overall activity was nearly two and a half times the long-term mean. The season was one of the most devastating on record, resulting in over 3100 deaths basinwide and record property damage in the United States.
