Real-time internet distribution of satellite products for tropical cyclone reconnaissance

Abstract

Tropical cyclone (TC) monitoring requires the use of multiple satellites and sensors to accurately assess TC location and intensity. Visible and infrared (vis/IR) data provide the bulk of TC information, but upper-level cloud obscurations inherently limit this important dataset during a storm's life cycle. Passive microwave digital data and imagery can provide key storm structural details and offset many of the vis/IR spectral problems. The ability to view storm rainbands, eyewalls, impacts of shear, and exposed low-level circulations, whether it is day or night, makes passive microwave data a significant tool for the satellite analyst. Passive microwave capabilities for TC reconnaissance are demonstrated via a near-real-time Web page created by the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, California. Examples are used to illustrate tropical cyclone monitoring. Collocated datasets are incorporated to enable the user to see many aspects of a storm's organization and development by quickly accessing one location.