Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies

RESEARCH

 

NOAA Strategic Goal 3: Serve Society’s Need for Weather and Water Information

Forecast Improvements

NSSL Project 6 – Investigation of Synoptic and Mesoscale Meteorological Processes Associated with Hazardous Weather: Measuring the Evolution of Tropical Waves over West Africa into Tropical Storms over the Eastern Atlantic

Douglas (primary – NSSL), Murillo, Mejia

Funding Type: CIMMS Task II

Objectives
Determine whether characteristics of tropical waves propagating over West Africa during August and September can be used to determine which of these waves will develop rapidly into hurricanes over the eastern Atlantic - the so-called "Cape Verde storms".

Accomplishments
A field data collection activity was carried out during August-September 2006; our team contributed to enhancing the sounding network over West Africa and also participated in the research aircraft program. The sounding data have been processed and were being used this summer, with the aid of a student. The aircraft observations have undergone preliminary analysis and some results presented at two meetings.

This project is ongoing.

Temperature and streamline analysis of NASA DC-8 observations showing the eye of tropical storm Debby off the coast of West Africa on 23 August 2006.

Temperature and streamline analysis of NASA DC-8 observations showing the eye of tropical storm Debby off the coast of West Africa on 23 August 2006.