A New Post-Storm Assessment Tool: Past Wind Swath

Hurricane Douglas has just finished its track across the Pacific Ocean, skirting closer to the Hawaiian Islands than any other tropical system in many years. Just how close was Hawaii’s brush with Douglas? This is the perfect opportunity to introduce a brand new tool in HURREVAC to answer this question–the Past Wind Swath.

Each main advisory issued by NHC and CPHC contains information about the extent of wind fields (tropical storm – 34kt/39mph, strong tropical storm – 50kt/58mph, and hurricane – 64kt/74mph) for the time that the advisory is issued. This is not forecast data, but rather estimates made from satellite observations, hurricane reconnaissance flights, and other sources of wind measurement. Main advisories are issued every 6 hours and by interpolating the hours in between, HURREVAC is now able to present you with a visual depiction of a storm’s wind history.

Try it out yourself on any storm in HURREVAC’s database by loading the storm and choosing ‘Past – Actual’ from the Wind Swath button.