Recent Work on the Impact of Aircraft Reconnaissance Data on TC Forecasts

Reconnaissance aircraft are flown into and around tropical cyclones (TCs) to collect in-situ observations of TC position, intensity, and structure. These observations are ingested into forecast models in an attempt to give them the best start to make the best forecast. As large-sample, reconnaissance-data impact studies have rarely been conducted, this makes the systematic assessment of their impact difficult. Recent work we’ve performed addresses this shortcoming. Results discussed will cover 1) the overall and relative impact of dropsondes on TC forecasts in the basin-scale HWRF and 2) preliminary results from an ongoing large-sample study that is quantifying the impact of NOAA’s Gulfstream IV-SP (G-IV) reconnaissance data on TC forecasts in HAFS.