'World-class' technology provides Navy cyclone forecasting

"World-class" technology provides Navy cyclone forecasting

By Susan Guth

Today marks the start of Hurricane Season! NRL supports US Navy military and humanitarian missions with global hurricane and typhoon information using the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) since 1997. The latest version of the system called COAMPS-TC® provides hi-resolution, five-day predictions of tropical cyclones anywhere in the world.

"COAMPS-TC is world-class in its ability to predict tropical cyclones, and we're continuing to make better forecasting for the Navy and DoD," said Dr. Jonathan Moskaitis, global modeling and marine meteorology scientist.

Using the COAMPS-TC Ensemble Prediction System, NRL scientists can evaluate hi-resolution multiple images of cyclones anywhere in the world with enough detail to reliably evaluate their size and intensity. NRL's technology enables the Marine Meteorology Division, located at NRL's base in Monterey, Calif., to routinely make 45-day forecasts of every cyclone around the world four times a day as routine storm-tracking research.

With decades of foundational research, NRL continues this effort to understand, "how hurricanes work. There are still many questions about the underlying processes of intensification and rapid intensification," said Dr. James Doyle, senior scientist at NRL's Marine Meteorology Division.

NRL shares data with partners to support United States Department of Defense and civilian organizations like the National Hurricane Center, the primary forecaster for safety information and evacuation prediction, NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) (for Department of Navy and United States Air Force operations), academic consortiums, and others.

For more information on COAMPS-TC and the NRL Marine Meteorology Division, watch: