The impact of the high space-temporal variability of the wind field during the moderate and intense storm stages of a tropical cyclone on the wave field as computed by the numerical model WaveWatch III is investigated in this work. The realistic wind fields are generated by a high-resolution implementation of the HWRF model in the Gulf of Mexico and stored over 15 min intervals. The spatial structure of the wind field computed by HWRF is highly variable in space and time, although its mean structure is very similar to that described for parametric hurricanes already specified in the previous studies. The resulting storm-generated wave fields have a persistent structure, with wave maxima present in the forward quadrants of the storm and in the rear quadrant II. This structure is determined by the strong winds and the extended fetch condition in quadrants I and II, as well as by the translation speed of the storm. When a shorter time interval is analyzed (e.g., a 3 h period, when the storm becomes a category 1 hurricane), the structure of the mean wind field may differ greatly from the mean field calculated with a sufficiently longer period; however, the spatial distribution of the wave field around the hurricane tends to maintain its typical spatial structure. The use of wind fields with reduced time variability (e.g., with a 3 h moving average) does not change the structure of the mean wave field, but reduces the mean wave height values by up to 10%.
<p>It is generally accepted that the typical average wind field in a hurricane is well described by a parametric Holland model. The spatial distribution of winds can be determined from data provided by the National Hurricane Center with a 6-hour regularity. The wave field can be calculated by a numerical model from the temporal interpolation of these wind fields. However, a characteristic of wind fields calculated by parametric models is that their spatial and temporal variability are relatively smooth compared to wind fields computed by a high-resolution dynamic model, such as the HWRF. This study analyses the effect of the high temporal and spatial variability of the wind field in a hurricane and its effect on the variability of the wave field calculated by the third-generation wave model Wavewatch III. The wind fields obtained from the use of the HWRF model correspond to the simulation of Hurricane Isaac while crossing through the Gulf of Mexico between 27 and 29 August 2012. The wind fields have a spatial resolution of approximately 2 km and a temporal resolution of 15 minutes. This information is used by an implementation of the Wavewatch III model in the Gulf of Mexico to obtain wave fields with a spatial resolution of 2 km and a temporal resolution of 15 minutes. We find that, despite the high temporal and spatial variability, the mean wind field has a spatial pattern similar to that described by the parametric models. In contrast, the wave field computed by the wave model is much more stable and has a typical structure already described in other studies: large values of significant height in the region of the first quadrant of the hurricane and at the front of its path, with maximum values at distances between one and two times the radius of maximum winds. Smaller values of significant height are found behind the hurricane's track, especially in the third quadrant. The structure of the wave field is largely determined by the translation speed of the storm and the extended fetch effect in the quadrants to the right of the hurricane's path.</p>
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