Hurricane sea-surface inflow angle and an observation-based parametric model of the two-dimensional wind field

This study presents an analysis of near-surface (10-m level) inflow angle in tropical cyclones using wind vector data from THOUSANDS Global Positioning System dropwindsondes deployed by research aircraft in fourteen hurricanes. A parametric model of inflow angle as functions of radius, azimuth, intensity, and storm motion speed is developed. When combined with an arbitrarily-chosen axisymmetric mean wind-speed radial profile, the two-dimensional surface wind vector may be constructed given the maximum wind speed, radius of maximum wind, and storm motion speed. This model can be applied for purposes of ocean surface remote sensing studies when wind direction is either unknown or ambiguous, for forcing storm surge and ocean models, and evaluating surface wind field structure in numerical models of tropical cyclones.