Estimation of Hurricane Maximum Wind Speed Using Temperature Anomaly Derived From Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder

Estimation of hurricane intensity is typically relying on aircraft observations and remote sensing data. This letter develops a satellite algorithm to estimate the hurricane surface maximum wind speed. The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) observations are used to retrieve the atmospheric temperatures. The temperature anomaly field at each pressure level within the hurricane is derived with respect to its environment. It is shown that for a tropical cyclone entering the hurricane stage, a warm core anomaly occurs in upper troposphere. From the GPS dropsonde data of three hurricane cases (Harvey, Irma, and Maria) in 2017, a linear relationship is derived between the maximum warm core value and maximum surface wind speed. Thus, ATMS-derived warm core anomaly is a very good indicator of storm intensity and can be used in the operational weather forecasts.

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