Ocean Surface Gravity Wave Evolution during Three Along-Shelf Propagating Tropical Cyclones: Model’s Performance of Wind-Sea and Swell

Despite recent advancements in ocean–wave observations, how a tropical cyclone’s (TC’s) track, intensity, and translation speed affect the directional wave spectra evolution is poorly understood. Given the scarcity of available wave spectral observations during TCs, there are few studies about the performance of spectral wave models, such as Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN), under various TC scenarios. We combined the National Data Buoy Center observations and numerical model hindcasts to determine the linkages between wave spectrum evolution and TC characteristics during hurricanes Matthew 2016, Dorian 2019, and Isaias 2020. Five phases were identified in the wave spectrogram based on the normalized distance to the TC, the sea–swell separation frequency, and the peak wave frequency, indicating how the wave evolution relates to TC characteristics. The wave spectral structure and SWAN model’s performance for wave energy distribution within different phases were identified. The TC intensity and its normalized distance to a buoy were the dominant factors in the energy levels and peak wave frequencies. The TC heading direction and translation speed were more likely to impact the durations of the phases. TC translation speeds also influenced the model’s performance on swell energy. The knowledge gained in this work paves the way for improving model’s performance during severe weather events.