Impact of assimilation of surface and cloud contaminated microwave observations on tropical cyclone simulations

The value of assimilating satellite observations are being appreciated in NWP and specifically in tropical cyclone (TC) studies. However, most common procedure is to select those data not contaminated by surface conditions and clouds. In this study, we present some recent simulations of four TCs (from three major TC basins: Ketsana 2003; Katrina 2005; Megi 2010 and Maria 2011) by WRF model. The impacts from assimilating contaminated data are assessed by comparing the forecast skill of assimilating the'total' data and only assimilate the 'clear' data. Technical details will be presented in the QC stage and the proper manoeuvre of the RRTOV module in WRFDA. Further, the issues of necessary data redundancy are discussed.