Mapping of Low-Level Hurricane Winds in Hurricane Rita by integrating Fine-Scale Radar and Tower Data

Data collected during the landfall of Hurricane Rita (2005) by the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) mobile radar and two instrumented Florida Coastal Monitoring Program (FCMP) 10-m towers were used to (i) produce fine-scale, two-dimensional maps of the 10-m AGL winds over Port Arthur, Texas and to (ii) characterize the evolution and spatial variability of the wind field during the hurricane's passage. The focus of this research is from 500 to 900 UTC, as the western eyewall made landfall over Port Arthur.

The DOW, deployed near the coastline in southern Port Arthur, Texas, collected approximately 3000 low elevation radar scans at 12 s intervals during the passage of Hurricane Rita across Port Arthur, Texas on 24 September 2005. The FCMP 10-m towers were located within the radar coverage area. Different methodologies were used to reduce DOW radar winds, collected at 10-200 m AGL, to standard 10 m AGL levels. FCMP tower data were compared to DOW data collected directly over these towers. Surface roughness maps over the city of Port Arthur, combined with DOW data, were used to create wind field maps during the landfall, and peak sustained and gust mapping. Statistical analysis of tower and DOW data were used to calculate roughness lengths independently.