A Data Impact Study Using Coyote UAS Observations in Hurricane Maria (2017)

During recent reconnaissance missions into Hurricane Maria (2017), NOAA conducted six Coyote Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) deployments using NOAA's P-3 reconnaissance crewed aircraft as a deployment vehicle. On September 22^nd 2017, one eyewall experiment was conducted; on September 23^rd, two eyewall and one inflow experiments were conducted; and on September 24^th, two glider experiments were conducted in the eye. In all of these experiments, High Definition OBServations (HDOBS) collected by the Coyote were successfully transmitted to NOAA and made available to forecasters in near-real time.

Using NOAA/AOML/HRD’s HWRF and HEDAS modeling and data assimilation systems, Coyote UAS flight data collected in Hurricane Maria will be assimilated in order to assess the impact of these unique observations on subsequent track and intensity forecasts. These will be contrasted to our previous findings with assimilating Coyote observations from the two inaugural missions conducted in Hurricane Eduard (2014) on September 16-17, which were demonstrated to have the potential to improve vortex-scale analyses of hurricane inner-core structure as well as subsequent short-range forecasts.