HURDAT

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The Hurricane Databases (HURDAT), managed by the National Hurricane Center (NHC), are two separate databases that contain details on tropical cyclones that have occurred within the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean since 1851 and 1949 respectively.

Contents

The Eastern Pacific database was originally compiled at the NHC during 1976 to help with the initialization with two tropical cyclone forecast models. Initially, tracks for the Central Pacific region and tracks for tropical depressions that did not develop into tropical storms or hurricanes were not included within the database. Over the next few years tracks were archived best track data from the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center (EPHC) were archived by the NHC on an annual basis. During 1982, the NHC started to include data on Central Pacific tropical storms and hurricanes within the database, before they took over the responsibility for issuing advisories during 1988. The format of the Eastern Pacific database was subsequently significantly changed during 2013 to include non-synoptic best track times and non-developing tropical depressions.

The Atlantic hurricane database

During 1959, a technical paper was published by the United States Weather Bureau, which consolidated several sources of records in to a single publication. [1] These sources included annual summaries that had been published in the Monthly Weather Review at various times since 1922, unpublished materials from the Hurricane forecast offices and other studies on hurricanes and hurricane climatology back to around 1886. [1] While combining the sources, position errors of over 100 miles (160 km) were found for several hurricanes shown in more than one source. [1] Therefore, the positions of all of the systems that were considered to have tropical characteristics, were compared with the historical weather maps of the daily synoptic series. [1] The most reliable positions and intensities were then plotted on a series of annual track charts, before being reviewed by the hurricane forecast centers, Extended Forecast Section and the National Hurricane Research Project. [1] The most accurate and consistent locations from the reviews were then plotted on the maps and published. [1] This dataset was subsequently updated during 1965, which extended the dataset back to 1871 and forwards to 1963 based on additional material. [2]

At around this time, NASA's Apollo program requested data on the climatological impacts of tropical cyclones on launches of space vehicles at the Kennedy Space Center. [3] The basic data was taken by the authors from the National Weather Records North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone deck number 988, which was updated and corrected to include data from 1886 to 1968. [3] [4] As a result of this work, a requirement for a computerized tropical cyclone database at the National Hurricane Center was realized, which led to the prediction of tropical cyclone motion out through 72 hours. [4] Over the next few years, HURDAT was extensively revised, by both the NHC and the National Climatic Center, before it was published at irregular intervals. [5] Over the next couple of decades, it became obvious that the database needed to be revised because it was incomplete, contained significant errors, or did not reflect the latest scientific understanding regarding the interpretation of past data. [6] Charles J Neumann subsequently documented several of these problems and obtained a grant, to start addressing them in a programme that was eventually called the Atlantic Hurricane Database Re-analysis Project.

During the 1990s, Jose Fernandez-Partagas led efforts to document previously undocumented tropical cyclones from the mid 1800s until the early 1900s, by using lists of previous hurricanes, books and newspapers. [7] [8] After his death in 1997, the results of his efforts were built upon by the Atlantic reanalysis team, before being checked by NHC's Best Track Committee and added in to the Atlantic HURDAT in 2001 and 2003. [9] [10] [11]

In 2013, the archive's format was significantly changed to include non-synoptic best track times, non-developing tropical depressions and wind radii. [12]

The Eastern and Central Pacific hurricane database

The Eastern Pacific best track database was initially compiled on magnetic tape in 1976 for the seasons between 1949 and 1975, at the NHC to help with the development of two tropical cyclone forecast models, which required tracks of past cyclones as a base for its predictions. [13] [14] The database was based on records held by the United States Navy and were interpolated from 12 hourly intervals to 6 hourly intervals based on a scheme devised by Hiroshi Akima in 1970. [15] [16] Initially tracks for the Central Pacific region and tracks for tropical depressions that did not develop into tropical storms or hurricanes were not included within the database. [16] After the database had been created Arthur Pike of the NHC made some internal adjustments, while in 1980 a review was made by Arnold Court under contract from the United States National Weather Service and resulted in additions and/or modifications to 81 tracks in the database. [15] [17] Between 1976 and 1987, the NHC archived best track data from the Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center, and in 1982 started including information on Central Pacific tropical storms and hurricanes started to be included in the database based on data from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and research done by Samuel Shaw of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in 1981. [13] [15] The format of the database was completely revised by the NHC in 1984, so that the format could resemble the Atlantic database before they took over the warning responsibility from the EPHC for the Eastern Pacific in 1988. [15] [17] [18]

In 2008 and in 2013, several revisions were made to the database to extend tracks over land, based on reports in the Mariners Weather Log and extrapolation of the tracks since the EPHC stopped issuing advisories on systems before they made landfall. [19] The archive's format was significantly changed in 2013 to include non-synoptic best track times, non-developing tropical depressions and wind radii. [20] In February 2016, the NHC released the 1959 Mexico hurricane's reanalysis, which was the first system to be reassessed using methods developed for the Atlantic reanalysis process. [21]

Reanalysis projects

After the HURDAT databases were created, it became obvious over the next couple of decades that HURDAT needed to be revised because it was incomplete, contained significant errors, or did not reflect the latest scientific understanding regarding the interpretation of past data. [6]

In 2013, the archive's format was significantly changed to include non-synoptic best track times, non-developing tropical depressions and wind radii. [12] During March 2014, the Atlantic HURDAT was updated with the results of the reanalysis for the seasons between 1946 and 1950, with nine tropical storms added to the database. [22] [23] Hurricane Camille's reanalysis was expedited and published during April 2014, after the National Hurricane Center management realized a need to answer the question: "Which is the strongest hurricane to have struck the United States?" [24] [25] During 2015 and 2016, HURDAT was revised with the results of the reanalysis for the seasons between 1951 and 1955, with 12 new tropical storms added to the database. [22] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hurricane Center</span> United States government agency

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the division of the United States' NOAA/National Weather Service responsible for tracking and predicting tropical weather systems between the Prime Meridian and the 140th meridian west poleward to the 30th parallel north in the northeast Pacific Ocean and the 31st parallel north in the northern Atlantic Ocean. The agency, which is co-located with the Miami branch of the National Weather Service, is situated on the campus of Florida International University in University Park, Miami, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1914 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 1914 Atlantic hurricane season was the least active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with only one known tropical storm. Although hurricane season typically encompasses a much larger time-span, actual activity was confined to the middle of September. The only tropical cyclone of the year developed in the region of The Bahamas on September 15 and drifted northwestward, moving inland over Florida and Georgia. Thorough warnings before the storm prevented any major damage. The 1914 season is one of only two that did not produce any hurricanes. Due to the lack of modern technology such as satellite imagery, information is often sparse, and an additional tropical depression may have existed in late October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1911 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 1911 Atlantic hurricane season was a relatively inactive hurricane season, with only six known tropical cyclones forming in the Atlantic during the summer and fall. There were three suspected tropical depressions, including one that began the season in February and one that ended the season when it dissipated in December. Three storms intensified into hurricanes, two of which attained Category 2 status on the modern-day Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. Storm data is largely based on the Atlantic hurricane database, which underwent a thorough revision for the period between 1911 and 1914 in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1907 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 1907 Atlantic hurricane season was a very inactive hurricane season. Only five tropical storms formed, and none of them reaching hurricane strength. This season is one of only two that did not produce any hurricanes. Of the season's storms, three made landfall, all of them on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The first storm of the season formed on June 24, while the final dissipated on November 12. Damage from the storms was minimal, and no deaths were reported. Due to the lack of modern technology, including satellite imagery, information is often sparse, and four additional systems could have formed during the season. A documentation for four possible storms during the season exists, although it has not been proven that these systems were fully tropical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic hurricane season</span> Tropical cyclone season

The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention, encompass the period in each year when most tropical cyclogenesis occurs in the basin. Even so, subtropical or tropical cyclogenesis is possible at any time of the year, and often does occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific hurricane</span> Mature tropical cyclone that develops within the eastern and central Pacific Ocean

A Pacific hurricane is a tropical cyclone that develops within the northeastern and central Pacific Ocean to the east of 180°W, north of the equator. For tropical cyclone warning purposes, the northern Pacific is divided into three regions: the eastern, central, and western, while the southern Pacific is divided into 2 sections, the Australian region and the southern Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W. Identical phenomena in the western north Pacific are called typhoons. This separation between the two basins has a practical convenience, however, as tropical cyclones rarely form in the central north Pacific due to high vertical wind shear, and few cross the dateline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic hurricane</span> Tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean

An Atlantic hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that forms in the Atlantic Ocean primarily between June and November. The terms "hurricane", "typhoon", and "cyclone" can be used interchangeably to describe this weather phenomenon. These storms are continuously rotating around a low pressure center, which causes stormy weather across a large area, which is not limited to just the eye of the storm. They are organized systems of clouds and thunderstorms that originate over tropical or subtropical waters and have closed low-level circulation, and should not be confused with tornadoes, which are just another type of cyclone. They form over low pressure systems. In the North Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific, the term "hurricane" is used, whereas "typhoon" is used in the Western Pacific near Asia. The more general term "cyclone" is used in the rest of the ocean basins, namely the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Landsea</span> American meteorologist

Christopher William "Chris" Landsea is an American meteorologist, formerly a research meteorologist with the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory at NOAA, and now the Science and Operations Officer at the National Hurricane Center. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project</span> Project to add new information about past North Atlantic hurricanes

The Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks to correct and add new information about past North Atlantic hurricanes. It was started around 2000 to update HURDAT, the official hurricane database for the Atlantic Basin, which has become outdated since its creation due to various systematic errors introduced into the database over time. This effort has involved reanalyses of ship observations from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) as well as reanalyses done by other researchers over the years. It has been ongoing as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1881 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 1881 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and early fall of 1881. This is the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. In the 1881 Atlantic season there were three tropical storms and four hurricanes, none of which became major hurricanes. However, in the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea were recorded, so the actual total could be higher. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 and zero to four per year between 1886 and 1910 has been estimated. Of the known 1881 cyclones, Hurricane Three and Tropical Storm Seven were both first documented in 1996 by Jose Fernandez-Partagas and Henry Diaz. They also proposed changes to the known tracks of Hurricane Four and Hurricane Five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1859 Atlantic hurricane season</span>

The 1859 Atlantic hurricane season featured seven hurricanes, the most recorded during an Atlantic hurricane season until 1870. However, in the absence of modern satellite and other remote-sensing technologies, only storms that affected populated land areas or encountered ships at sea were recorded, so the actual total could be higher. An undercount bias of zero to six tropical cyclones per year between 1851 and 1885 has been estimated. Of the eight known 1859 cyclones, five were first documented in 1995 by Jose Fernandez-Partagás and Henry Diaz, which was largely adopted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atlantic hurricane reanalysis in their updates to the Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT), with some adjustments. HURDAT is the official source for hurricane data such as track and intensity, although due to sparse records, listings on some storms are incomplete.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cry, George W; Haggard, William S; White, Hugh S (1959). North Atlantic Tropical Cyclones Tracks and Frequencies of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms 1886–1958 (PDF). Office of Climatology (Technical Paper 36). United States Weather Bureau. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ Cry, George W (1965). Tropical Cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean Tracks and Frequencies of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms 1871–1963 (PDF) (Technical Paper 55). United States Weather Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Hope, John R; Neumann, Charles J (1968). Probability of Tropical Cyclone Induced Winds at Cape Kennedy (Report). Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Jarvinen, Brian R; Caso, Eduardo L (June 1978). A Tropical Cyclone Data Tape for the North Atlantic Basin, 1886–1977: Contents, Limitations, and Uses (PDF). National Hurricane Center (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 6). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  5. ↑ Neumann, Charles J. (March 26, 1978). Tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1977 /. Asheville, N.C. : U.S. Department of Commerce. hdl:2027/mdp.39015004530633.
  6. 1 2 "Solving the Jigsaw Puzzle of Hurricane History". February 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ "A Fitting Resting Place for a Man of Hurricanes : The Alabama Weather Blog". www.alabamawx.com. December 25, 2007.
  8. ↑ http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/Partagas/1851-1857/Intro_51-57.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  9. ↑ "NOAA News Online (Story 2005)". www.noaanews.noaa.gov.
  10. ↑ http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/rpibook-final04.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  11. ↑ Landsea, Chris; Anderson, Craig; Clark, Gil; Neumann, Charlie; Zimmer, Mark (January 2000). "Comments of and replies to the National Hurricane Center Best-Track Change Committee". www.aoml.noaa.gov.
  12. 1 2 Landsea, Christopher W; Franklin, James L; Beven, John L (April 2013). The revised Atlantic hurricane database (HURDAT2) (PDF) (Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Neumann, Charles J; Leftwhich, Preston W (August 1977). Statistical Guidance for the Prediction of Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Motion — Part I (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS WR-124). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service — Western Region. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  14. ↑ Brown, Gail M; Leftwhich, Preston W; National Hurricane Center (August 1982). A Compilation of Eastern and Central North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Data (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 16). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Blake, Eric S; Gibney, Ethan J; Brown, Daniel P; Mainelli, Michelle; Franklin, James L; Kimberlain, Todd B; Hammer, Gregory R (2009). Tropical Cyclones of the Eastern North Pacific Basin, 1949-2006 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Leftwhich, Preston W; Brown, Gail M (February 1981). Eastern North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Occurrences during Intra Seasonal Periods (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS WR-160). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service — Western Region. pp. 2–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Davis, Mary AS; Brown, Gail M; Leftwhich, Preston W; National Hurricane Center (September 1984). A Tropical Cyclone Data Tape for the Eastern and Central North Pacific Basins, 1949–1983: Contents, Limitations, and Uses (PDF) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 25). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. pp. 2–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  18. ↑ Sheets, Robert C (June 1990). "The National Hurricane Center — Past, Present, and Future" (PDF). Weather and Forecasting. 5 (2): 197. Bibcode:1990WtFor...5..185S. doi:10.1175/1520-0434(1990)005<0185:TNHCPA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   1520-0434.
  19. ↑ National Hurricane Center (April 2015). Revisions made to EPAC HURDAT (Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ Landsea, Christopher W; Franklin, James L; Blake, Eric S; Tanabe, Raymond (April 2013). The revised Northeast and North Central Pacific hurricane database (HURDAT2) (PDF) (Report). United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Re-analysis of the 1959 Manzanillo Mexico Hurricane Landfall intensity changed from category 5 to category 4" (PDF) (Press release). United States National Hurricane Center. February 4, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  22. 1 2 National Hurricane Center; Hurricane Research Division; Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (March 2014). "Atlantic hurricane best track (HURDAT) Meta Data". United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  23. ↑ Landsea, Chris (March 25, 2014). "RE-ANALYSIS OF 1946 TO 1950 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASONS COMPLETED" (PDF). National Hurricane Center . National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  24. ↑ Kieper, Margaret E; Landsea, Christopher W; Beven, John L (April 21, 2015). "A Reanalysis of Hurricane Camille" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 97 (3). American Meteorological Society: 367–384. Bibcode:2016BAMS...97..367K. doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00137.1 . ISSN   0003-0007.
  25. ↑ "Re-analysis of 1969's Hurricane Camille Completed: Catastrophic hurricane now ranks as second strongest on record" (PDF) (Press release). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. April 1, 2014.
  26. ↑ Landsea, Chris (May 18, 2015). "RE-ANALYSIS OF 1951 TO 1955 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASONS COMPLETED" (PDF). National Hurricane Center . National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved July 19, 2022.
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