New Advanced Hurricane Model Aids NOAA Forecasters

June 27, 2007 -- NOAA announced today that the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and its National Hurricane Center forecasters will now use the Hurricane Weather and Research Forecast Model to predict the track and strength of storms this hurricane season. Developed by scientists at the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center, HWRF is a new cutting-edge computer model that will serve as the operational backbone for current and future hurricane track and intensity forecasts by meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

HWRF, a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, will utilize highly advanced physics of the atmosphere, ocean and waves in one prediction system, providing unparalleled understanding of the science of tropical cyclone evolution. Its output gives meteorologists an analysis of the hurricane in three-dimensions from real-time airborne Doppler radar. It will make use of a wide variety of observations from satellites, data buoys, and hurricane hunter aircraft. No other hurricane model accesses this wide of a range of meteorological information.

HWRF will eventually run at a very high resolution with advanced representation of a hurricane on many different scales of motion, which means it will be able to describe and forecast the smaller scale features of the hurricane circulation along with its interaction with the environment. This will provide forecasters with critical information on the evolution of the wind structure within the storm.