The Impact of Best Track Discrepancies on Global Tropical Cyclone Climatologies using IBTrACS

Abstract

Using the International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS), the climatology of tropical cyclones is compared between two global best track datasets: 1) the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) subset of IBTrACS (IBTrACS-WMO) and 2) a combination of data from the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (NHC1JTWC). Comparing the climatologies between IBTrACS-WMO and NHC1JTWC highlights some of the heterogeneities inherent in these datasets for the period of global satellite coverage 1981-2010. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of these climatologies to the choice of best track dataset. Previous studies have examined best track heterogeneities in individual regions, usually the North Atlantic and west Pacific. This study puts those regional issues into their global context. The differences between NHC1JTWC and IBTrACS-WMO are greatest in the west Pacific, where the strongest storms are substantially weaker in IBTrACS-WMO. These disparities strongly affect the global measures of tropical cyclone activity because 30% of the world's tropical cyclones form in the west Pacific. Because JTWC employs similar procedures throughout most of the globe, the comparisons in this study highlight differences between WMO agencies. For example, NHC1JTWC has more 96-kt (;49 m s 21 ) storms than IBTrACS-WMO in the west Pacific but fewer in the Australian region. This discrepancy probably points to differing operational procedures between the WMO agencies in the two regions. Without better documentation of historical analysis procedures, the only way to remedy these heterogeneities will be through systematic reanalysis.

Projected Twenty-First-Century Changes in the Length of the Tropical Cyclone Season

“…The seasonal cycle of TCs is not very sensitive to the choice of dataset (Schreck et al 2014). To ensure an accurate representation of the seasonal cycle in all basins, we calculate the climatology only over the satellite era .…”

Historical Monitoring of Shoreline Changes in the Cua Dai Estuary, Central Vietnam Using Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Data

“…According to the historical data, around two to four tropical storms annually hit the mainland in the coastal areas of Quang Nam. Storm tracking data from 1964 to 2014 showed 35 typhoons, and tropical depressions made shoreline changes and landfall on the coast from Thua Thien Hue to Quang Nam [26]. The deadly typhoon Xangsane hit Da Nang on October 1, 2006, with strong winds at the 12-14 level in the Quang Nam province.…”

Are Special Processes at Work in the Rapid Intensification of Tropical Cyclones?

“…Satellite-based storm intensities are usually within roughly 10 kt of aircraft reconnaissance-based estimates, at least since 1989 (Knaff et al 2010). Some discussion of the effect of Dvorak-type techniques on tropical cyclone intensity estimation can be found in Schreck et al (2014).…”