Publication Date:
2019
Description:
Abstract
The NASA Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) was launched in December 2016, providing an unprecedented opportunity to obtain ocean surface wind speeds (OSWS) including wind estimates over the hurricane inner‐core region. This study demonstrates the influence of assimilating an early version of CYGNSS observations of OSWS on numerical simulations of two notable landfalling hurricanes, Harvey and Irma (2017). A research version of the NCEP operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting model and the Grid‐point Statistical Interpolation based hybrid ensemble‐3‐dimensional variational data assimilation system are used. It is found that the assimilation of CYGNSS data results in improved track, intensity, and structure forecasts for both hurricane cases, especially for the weak phase of a hurricane, implying potential benefits of using such data for future research and operational applications.
Print ISSN:
0094-8276
Electronic ISSN:
1944-8007
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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