The NWS Tropical program focuses on operational concerns arising from potential and ongoing tropical cyclones, with an emphasis on wind and storm surge hazards. The primary internal stakeholders include National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the regions and Weather Forecast Offices that experience tropical cyclone impacts, as well as the supporting development units such as Environmental Modeling Center, the Meteorological Development Lab, and NOAA LOs (i.e. OAR/AOML/HRD, NOS/COOPS and OAR/WPO). External stakeholders include federal agencies with tropical cyclone impact management roles and the WMO Region IV countries.
STI is supporting the Tropical Roadmap and coordinating transition of mature research into operations through the programmatic channels in place. STI is also supporting the evaluation of machine English-to-Spanish tropical weather messages.
▌FOCI OF ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Our key ongoing activities follow the Section 104 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (“Weather Act”), which states:
In collaboration with the U.S. weather industry and appropriate academic entities, and through the National Weather Service (NWS), NOAA must plan and maintain a project to improve hurricane forecasting, including:
• the prediction of rapid intensification and track of hurricanes,
• the forecast and communication of storm surges from hurricanes, and
• risk communication research to create more effective watch and warning products.
In addition, the Tropical Roadmap is integrating Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program and Hurricane Supplemental projects along with funded OAR/WPO development.
Another focus of activity is on the Consumer Option for an Alternative System to Allocate Losses (COASTAL) Act.
