Description of HWRF Modeling System graphics and statistics for use as a diagnostic tool

Graphics for the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) coupled modeling system are produced up to four times a day for all storms in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins for which HWRF model output exists. At a storm's completion, track and intensity statistics are generated. These graphical products are made available to the research community and hurricane forecasters via an Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) HWRF group website to evaluate HWRF model performance.

GrADS scripts which use operational HWRF track and grib files are run automatically and produce plots of model forecasted track and intensity, as well as parent and nested domain animations for individual storms. These scripts can also be run interactively when changes to the HWRF model code are tested and evaluated using historical cases.

Improvements in graphics scripting capability and efficiency are ongoing but are limited by web server space issues. Recent additions to the HWRF graphics suite include simulated HWRF satellite imagery for comparison with GOES satellite imagery.