Modeling of tropical cyclone winds and waves for emergency management

This paper compares three commonly used parametric models of tropical cyclone winds and evaluates their application in the wave model WAM. The parametric models provide surface wind fields based on best tracks of tropical cyclones and WAM simulates wave growth based on the wind energy input. The model package is applied to hindcast the wind and wave conditions of Hurricane Iniki, which directly hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1992. The parametric wind fields are evaluated against buoy and aircraft measurements made during the storm. A sensitivity analysis determines the spatial and spectral resolution needed to model the wave field of Hurricane Iniki. Comparisons of the modeled waves with buoy measurements indicate good agreement within the core of the storm and demonstrate the capability of the model package as a forecasting tool for emergency management.

[1]  Mark D. Powell,et al.  Comparisons of HRD and SLOSH Surface Wind Fields in Hurricanes: Implications for Storm Surge Modeling , 1999 .

[2]  G. Holland.  An Analytic Model of the Wind and Pressure Profiles in Hurricanes , 1980 .

[3]  Peter G. Black,et al.  Hurricane Directional Wave Spectrum Spatial Variation in the Open Ocean , 2001 .

[4]  Gary D. Atkinson,et al.  Tropical Cyclone Minimum Sea Level Pressure/Maximum Sustained Wind Relationship for the Western North Pacific , 1977 .

[5]  R. W. Schloemer.  Analysis and synthesis of hurricane wind patterns over Lake Okeechobee, Florida. , 1954 .

[6]  G. Barnes,et al.  Inner Core Strength of Atlantic Tropical Cyclones , 2002 .

[7]  Kwok Fai Cheung,et al.  Modeling of Hurricane Waves in Hawaiian Waters , 2001 .

[8]  R. Marshall,et al.  Gust Factors Applied to Hurricane Winds , 1992 .

[9]  Peter G. Black,et al.  The relationship of hurricane reconnaissance flight-level wind measurements to winds measured by NOAA's oceanic platforms , 1990 .

[10]  Luigi Cavaleri,et al.  Shallow water application of the third-generation WAM wave model , 1989 .

[11]  G. M. Barnes,et al.  Marine Flooding on the Coast of Kaua'i during Hurricane Iniki: Hindcasting Inundation Components and Delineating Washover , 1995 .

[12]  Mark D. Powell,et al.  Surface Wind Fields of 1995 Hurricanes Erin, Opal, Luis, Marilyn, and Roxanne at Landfall , 1998 .

[13]  James D. Clark,et al.  Interannual Variation of Tropical Cyclone Activity over the Central North Pacific. , 2002 .

[14]  W. Liu,et al.  Bulk Parameterization of Air-Sea Exchanges of Heat and Water Vapor Including the Molecular Constraints at the Interface , 1979 .

[15]  J. Bidlot,et al.  Verification of the ECMWF Wave Forecasting System against Buoy and Altimeter Data , 1997 .

[16]  Timothy A. Reinhold,et al.  Hurricane Andrew's Landfall in South Florida. Part I: Standardizing Measurements for Documentation of Surface Wind Fields , 1996 .

[17]  Hugh E. Willoughby,et al.  Concentric Eye Walls, Secondary Wind Maxima, and The Evolution of the Hurricane vortex , 1982 .

[18]  Mark D. Powell,et al.  Observed and Modeled Wind and Water-Level Response from Tropical Storm Marco (1990) , 1994 .

[19]  C. Jelesnianski,et al.  SLOSH: Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes , 1992 .

[20]  Lawrence A. Hughes,et al.  ON THE LOW-LEVEL WIND STRUCTURE OF TROPICAL STORMS , 1952 .

[21]  M. Powell,et al.  Surface Wind Fields , 2000 .

[22]  C. Jelesnianski,et al.  NUMERICAL COMPUTATIONS OF STORM SURGES WITHOUT BOTTOM STRESS , 1966 .

[23]  Charles L. Bretschneider,et al.  A Non-Dimensional Stationary Hurricane Wave Model , 1972 .

[24]  V. F. Dvorak.  Tropical Cyclone Intensity Analysis and Forecasting from Satellite Imagery , 1975 .

[25]  M. Donelan,et al.  Dynamics and Modelling of Ocean Waves , 1994 .

[26]  Mark D. Powell,et al.  Changes in the Low-Level Kinematic and Thermodynamic Structure of Hurricane Alicia (1983) at Landfall , 1987 .