Science and Technology Innovation in the Hurricane and Ocean Testbed (HOT)

The Hurricane and Ocean Testbed (HOT) focuses on preparing science and technology innovations for future use in tropical cyclone and marine operational environments. Current targets for incorporation into operational workflows include not only social and physical science innovations, but also emerging technology and end-user product innovations.

Testing and evaluation activities are carried out both physically at the William Lapenta Laboratory, located at the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and virtually in a cloud-based staging environment. The physical and technical infrastructure mimics operations and facilitates a streamlined testing and evaluation process. The HOT infrastructure also removes many of the barriers, such as IT system access and a physical space for collaboration, that have historically hindered research to operations (R2O) efforts.

This presentation will highlight HOT activities and outcomes in 2024 and outline the vision for future tropical cyclone and marine R2O in 2025 and beyond. Topics will include an overview of the wide range of active projects and complex collaborations among stakeholders, and a summary of the technology infrastructure and processes that are accelerating iterative development among researchers, forecasters and technical staff.