Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for
- Author or Editor: Charles S. Neumann x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
Official Atlantic tropical cyclone track forecasts issued by the National Hurricane Center over the decade of the 1970's are examined in this study. The purpose is to isolate any significant biases, trends or other statistical properties of the forecast errors. In this analysis, we consider (i) storms Initially located in the easterlies and (ii) storms initially in the westerlies. Latitude 24.5°N approximately delimits the two zones. The mean forecast error (MFE) on group (i) storms is shown to be substantially less than group (ii). However, it also is shown that “skill,” defined as the ability to improve on a forecast based only on climatology and persistence, is greater for storms embedded in the westerlies.
An examination of the year-to-year variation in MFE, after these errors have been adjusted according to attendant year-to-year variation in average storm latitude and translational speed, fails to disclose any upward or downward trend in the ability to forecast tropical cyclone motion over the decade of the 1970's. This finding is evaluated in relation to an earlier study, which describes a 10–12% decline in MFE over the 8-year period 1959–66.
To examine biases and dispersion patterns of the errors, probability ellipses associated with the bivariate normal distribution were fitted to the classes of forecast errors described above. Two coordinate systems were used: one system was oriented in the conventional zonal/meridional sense and the other was rotated in accordance with storm emotion. Small right-of-track and slow biases were identified. Overall, these biases were found to be small, although a number of sizable regional biases were identified. The study concludes with an evaluation of temporal and spatial aspects of landfall error, i.e., the distance between forecast and observed point of tropical cyclone landfall measured along the coast.
Abstract
Official Atlantic tropical cyclone track forecasts issued by the National Hurricane Center over the decade of the 1970's are examined in this study. The purpose is to isolate any significant biases, trends or other statistical properties of the forecast errors. In this analysis, we consider (i) storms Initially located in the easterlies and (ii) storms initially in the westerlies. Latitude 24.5°N approximately delimits the two zones. The mean forecast error (MFE) on group (i) storms is shown to be substantially less than group (ii). However, it also is shown that “skill,” defined as the ability to improve on a forecast based only on climatology and persistence, is greater for storms embedded in the westerlies.
An examination of the year-to-year variation in MFE, after these errors have been adjusted according to attendant year-to-year variation in average storm latitude and translational speed, fails to disclose any upward or downward trend in the ability to forecast tropical cyclone motion over the decade of the 1970's. This finding is evaluated in relation to an earlier study, which describes a 10–12% decline in MFE over the 8-year period 1959–66.
To examine biases and dispersion patterns of the errors, probability ellipses associated with the bivariate normal distribution were fitted to the classes of forecast errors described above. Two coordinate systems were used: one system was oriented in the conventional zonal/meridional sense and the other was rotated in accordance with storm emotion. Small right-of-track and slow biases were identified. Overall, these biases were found to be small, although a number of sizable regional biases were identified. The study concludes with an evaluation of temporal and spatial aspects of landfall error, i.e., the distance between forecast and observed point of tropical cyclone landfall measured along the coast.
Abstract
U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts for tropical cyclone tracks and wind speeds are extended in time to produce spatially disaggregated probability forecasts for landfall location and intensity, using a weighted bootstrap procedure. Historical analogs, with respect to the forecast characteristics (location, heading, and wind speed) of a current storm, are selected. These are resampled by translating their locations to random positions consistent with the current forecast, and recent NHC forecast accuracy statistics. The result is a large number of plausible Monte Carlo realizations that jointly approximate a probability distribution for the future track and intensity of the storm. Performance of the resulting forecasts is assessed for U.S. tropical cyclone landfall probabilities during 1998–2006, and the forecasts are shown to be skillful and exhibit excellent reliability, even beyond the 120-h forecast horizon of the NHC advisory forecasts upon which they are based.
Abstract
U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts for tropical cyclone tracks and wind speeds are extended in time to produce spatially disaggregated probability forecasts for landfall location and intensity, using a weighted bootstrap procedure. Historical analogs, with respect to the forecast characteristics (location, heading, and wind speed) of a current storm, are selected. These are resampled by translating their locations to random positions consistent with the current forecast, and recent NHC forecast accuracy statistics. The result is a large number of plausible Monte Carlo realizations that jointly approximate a probability distribution for the future track and intensity of the storm. Performance of the resulting forecasts is assessed for U.S. tropical cyclone landfall probabilities during 1998–2006, and the forecasts are shown to be skillful and exhibit excellent reliability, even beyond the 120-h forecast horizon of the NHC advisory forecasts upon which they are based.
