Introduction
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed the North Atlantic Hurricane Watch (NAHW) platform for interactive visualization of multi-parameter observations and online analysis of tropical cyclones. The NAHW platform uses observations from NASA's Multi-Scale Ultra-High Resolution (MUR) dataset as well as measurement's from the European Space Agency's Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) aboard the MetOp-A satellite.
Major Findings
In the NAHW visualization above, Hurricanes Irma (left) and Jose (right) are revealed by the ASCAT-derived ocean surface wind estimates from Sept. 11, 2017. Note the very large field of Irma’s strong winds covering the entire Florida peninsula. Jose’s wind field peak intensity is higher at this time, but its area of strong winds is much smaller.
The history of the storm evolution is marked by color-coded circles that show the “best track” locations and storm intensity. A click on each of these marks allows the user to view information about the exact storm location, the time of its validity, the maximum winds, and the minimum surface pressure — all as reported by the National Hurricane Center.