Near-Surface Maximum Winds During the Landfall of Hurricane Harvey

A. Addison Alford; Michael I. Biggerstaff; Gordon D. Carrie; John L. Schroeder; Brian D. Hirth; Sean M. Waugh

doi:10.1029/2018GL080013

Near-Surface Maximum Winds During the Landfall of Hurricane Harvey

A. Addison Alford, Michael I. Biggerstaff, Gordon D. Carrie, John L. Schroeder, Brian D. Hirth, Sean M. Waugh

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

A mobile Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching (SMART) radar was deployed in Hurricane Harvey and coordinated with the Corpus Christi, TX, WSR-88D radar to retrieve airflow during landfall. Aerodynamic surface roughness estimates and a logarithmic wind profile assumption were used to project the 500-m radar-derived maximum wind field to near the surface. The logarithmic wind assumption was justified using radiosonde soundings taken within the storm, while the radar wind estimates were validated against an array of StickNets. For the data examined here, the radar projections had root-mean-squared error of 3.9 m/s and a high bias of 2.3 m/s. Mesovorticies in Harvey's eyewall produced the strongest radar-observed winds. Given the wind analysis, Harvey was, at most, a Category 3 hurricane (50–58 m/s sustained winds) at landfall. This study demonstrates the utility of integrated remote and in situ observations in deriving spatiotemporal maps of wind maxima during hurricane landfalls.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	973-982
Number of pages	10
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	46
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL080013
State	Published - Jan 28 2019

Keywords

Hurricane Harvey
SMART radar
extreme winds
hurricanes
landfalling hurricanes
wind damage

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title = "Near-Surface Maximum Winds During the Landfall of Hurricane Harvey",

abstract = "A mobile Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching (SMART) radar was deployed in Hurricane Harvey and coordinated with the Corpus Christi, TX, WSR-88D radar to retrieve airflow during landfall. Aerodynamic surface roughness estimates and a logarithmic wind profile assumption were used to project the 500-m radar-derived maximum wind field to near the surface. The logarithmic wind assumption was justified using radiosonde soundings taken within the storm, while the radar wind estimates were validated against an array of StickNets. For the data examined here, the radar projections had root-mean-squared error of 3.9 m/s and a high bias of 2.3 m/s. Mesovorticies in Harvey's eyewall produced the strongest radar-observed winds. Given the wind analysis, Harvey was, at most, a Category 3 hurricane (50–58 m/s sustained winds) at landfall. This study demonstrates the utility of integrated remote and in situ observations in deriving spatiotemporal maps of wind maxima during hurricane landfalls.",

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author = "Alford, {A. Addison} and Biggerstaff, {Michael I.} and Carrie, {Gordon D.} and Schroeder, {John L.} and Hirth, {Brian D.} and Waugh, {Sean M.}",

note = "Funding Information: Data collection for this study was supported by RAPID grant AGS-1759479 from the National Science Foundation and funds from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. The first author was supported by NASA Headquarters under the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program grant 17- EARTH17R-72. The data used in the figures are available at Zenodo using doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.1453446. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018. The Authors.",

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AU - Hirth, Brian D.

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N1 - Funding Information: Data collection for this study was supported by RAPID grant AGS-1759479 from the National Science Foundation and funds from the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma. The first author was supported by NASA Headquarters under the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program grant 17- EARTH17R-72. The data used in the figures are available at Zenodo using doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.1453446. Publisher Copyright: © 2018. The Authors.

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N2 - A mobile Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching (SMART) radar was deployed in Hurricane Harvey and coordinated with the Corpus Christi, TX, WSR-88D radar to retrieve airflow during landfall. Aerodynamic surface roughness estimates and a logarithmic wind profile assumption were used to project the 500-m radar-derived maximum wind field to near the surface. The logarithmic wind assumption was justified using radiosonde soundings taken within the storm, while the radar wind estimates were validated against an array of StickNets. For the data examined here, the radar projections had root-mean-squared error of 3.9 m/s and a high bias of 2.3 m/s. Mesovorticies in Harvey's eyewall produced the strongest radar-observed winds. Given the wind analysis, Harvey was, at most, a Category 3 hurricane (50–58 m/s sustained winds) at landfall. This study demonstrates the utility of integrated remote and in situ observations in deriving spatiotemporal maps of wind maxima during hurricane landfalls.

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Near-Surface Maximum Winds During the Landfall of Hurricane Harvey

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