Meteorological Technology International
  • News
    • A-E
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
    • G-P
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
    • R-S
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
    • T-Z
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    • April 2025
    • January 2025
    • September 2024
    • April 2024
    • Archive Issues
    • Subscribe Free!
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
  • Sign-up for Free Weekly E-Newsletter
  • Meet the Editors
  • Contact Us
  • Media Pack
LinkedIn Facebook
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
  • News
      • Agriculture
      • Automated Weather Stations
      • Aviation
      • Climate Measurement
      • Data
      • Developing Countries
      • Digital Applications
      • Early Warning Systems
      • Extreme Weather
      • Hydrology
      • Lidar
      • Lightning Detection
      • New Appointments
      • Nowcasting
      • Numerical Weather Prediction
      • Polar Weather
      • Radar
      • Rainfall
      • Remote Sensing
      • Renewable Energy
      • Satellites
      • Solar
      • Space Weather
      • Supercomputers
      • Training
      • Transport
      • Weather Instruments
      • Wind
      • World Meteorological Organization
      • Meteorological Technology World Expo
  • Features
  • Online Magazines
    1. April 2025
    2. January 2025
    3. September 2024
    4. April 2024
    5. January 2024
    6. September 2023
    7. April 2023
    8. Archive Issues
    9. Subscribe Free!
    Featured
    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – April 2025

    By Web TeamApril 15, 2025
    Recent

    In this Issue – April 2025

    April 15, 2025

    In this Issue – January 2025

    December 13, 2024

    In this Issue – September 2024

    August 8, 2024
  • Opinion
  • Videos
  • Supplier Spotlight
  • Expo
Facebook LinkedIn
Subscribe
Meteorological Technology International
Wind

NOAA launches new hurricane forecast model

Dan SymondsBy Dan SymondsJuly 14, 20233 Mins Read
Share LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email
Photo credit: credit Pixabay
Share
LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Email

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, a division of the US National Weather Service, has a new model to help produce hurricane forecasts this season. The Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System (HAFS) will run alongside existing models for the 2023 season before replacing them as NOAA’s premier hurricane forecasting model.

Rick Spinrad, NOAA Administrator, said, “The quick deployment of HAFS marks a milestone in NOAA’s commitment to advancing our hurricane forecasting capabilities and ensuring continued improvement of services to the American public. Development, testing and evaluations were jointly carried out between scientists at NOAA Research and the National Weather Service, marking a seamless transition from development to operations.”

Running the experimental version of HAFS from 2019 to 2022 showed a 10-15% improvement in track predictions compared with NOAA’s existing hurricane models. HAFS is expected to continue increasing forecast accuracy, thereby reducing the impact of storms on lives and property.

HAFS is as good as NOAA’s existing hurricane models when forecasting storm intensity and is better at predicting rapid intensification. HAFS was the first model last year to accurately predict that Hurricane Ian would undergo secondary rapid intensification as the storm moved off the coast of Cuba and barreled toward southwest Florida.

Over the next four years, HAFS will undergo several major upgrades, ultimately increasing the accuracy of forecasts, warnings and life-saving information. By 2027, the NOAA Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program (HFIP) aims to reduce all model forecast errors by nearly half compared with 2017.

HAFS provides more accurate, higher-resolution forecast information over land and ocean and is comprised of five major components: a high-resolution moving nest; high-resolution physics; multi-scale data assimilation that allows for vortex initialization and vortex cycling; 3D ocean coupling; and improved assimilation techniques that allow for the assimilation of novel observations. The foundational component is the moving nest, which allows the model to zoom in with a resolution of 1.9km on areas of a hurricane that are key to improving forecasts of wind intensity and rain.

Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said, “With the introduction of the HAFS forecast model into our suite of tropical forecasting tools, our forecasters are better equipped than ever to safeguard lives and property with enhanced accuracy and timely warnings. HAFS is the result of strong collaborative efforts throughout the science community and marks significant progress in hurricane prediction.”

HAFS, the first regional coupled model to go into operation under the Unified Forecast System (UFS), was developed through community-based collaboration and the streamlining of the operational transition process. As HAFS uses the FV3 — the same dynamic core as the US Global Forecast System — it will have a unified starting point when initiated for hurricane prediction and will also integrate with ocean and wave models as underlying inputs. The current standalone regional hurricane models – HWRF and HMON – each have their own starting point for modeling the atmosphere. Leveraging the FV3 in HAFS reduces overlapping efforts, making the NOAA modeling portfolio more consistent and efficient.

HAFS is the first new major forecast model implementation using NOAA’s updated weather and climate supercomputers, which were installed last summer. HAFS would not be possible without the speed and power of these new supercomputers, called the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System 2 (WCOSS2).

For more wind news, please click here.

Previous ArticleDrone missions take flight as part of Met Office WesCon campaign
Next Article African early warning system for water resources wins 2023 UNDRR RISK Award

Read Similar Stories

Lightning Detection

Vaisala unveils helideck monitoring software for offshore operations

May 9, 20253 Mins Read
Climate Measurement

Omaha’s National Weather Service office resumes twice-daily balloon launches

May 7, 20252 Mins Read
Extreme Weather

UK Met Office to update power outage predictions for windstorms

March 31, 20253 Mins Read
Latest News

NASA selects University of Texas at Arlington researcher for wildfire smoke warning system

May 23, 2025

University of Pennsylvania and Microsoft Research develop machine-learning weather prediction model

May 22, 2025

VIDEO: Caltech’s autonomous underwater vehicle harnesses ocean currents to improve ocean monitoring

May 21, 2025

Receive breaking stories and features in your inbox each week, for free


Enter your email address:


Supplier Spotlights
  • Nel Hydrogen
Latest Job Postings
  • Postdoctoral researcher position on land surface and vegetation modelling (R2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
  • HPC Engineer for Earth Sciences applications (RE1/2)

    • Barcelona
    • Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputación
    • Full Time
Getting in Touch
  • Contact Us / Advertise
  • Meet the Editors
  • Download Media Pack
  • Free Weekly E-Newsletter
Our Social Channels
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
© 2025 UKi Media & Events a division of UKIP Media & Events Ltd
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Notice and Takedown Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the ...
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by