The UW-CIMSS Advanced Dvorak Technique (ADT)

The Advanced Dvorak Technique (ADT) is used operationally by Tropical Cyclone Forecast Centers (TCFC) worldwide to help estimate the intensity of tropical cyclones (TCs) from satellites. New enhancements to the ADT are currently being explored and implemented by the development team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison/CIMSS to further expand the capabilities and precision of the objective algorithm. These advancements include 1) an upgraded algorithm to objectively estimate a storm center position, 2) adjustments to the intensity estimates during extratropical transition, and 3) operability and tuning for improved use with subtropical cyclones. The goals of these upgrades are to provide TCFC analysts/forecasters with an expanded tool to more accurately estimate intensity for TCs, and those storms forming from, or converting into, hybrid/non-tropical systems. In addition, the algorithm developers are preparing the ADT for GOES-R (expected launch in late 2016 and commissioning in 2017) as the official hurricane intensity estimation algorithm within the NOAA/NESDIS operational computing environment. Examples of this and some additional upgrades to the ADT, including the functionality and performance on the new Himawari-8 satellite, will be shown.