Introducing a Comprehensive U.S. Landfalling Tropical Cyclone Size Dataset: 1900 - 2015

Tropical cyclone (TC) size has been given relatively recent attention, due to the effects of very large hurricanes such as Hurricanes Sandy, Isaac, and Ike. However, research has been hindered, in part, due to the lack of a comprehensive data source. While data sources currently exist that contain TC size data over stretches of time, there are gaps present between the different sources which prohibit the existence of a complete TC size record. This project introduces a comprehensive Radius of Outermost Closed Isobar (ROCI) dataset that contains ROCI data for every known U.S. landfalling tropical storm and hurricane since 1900. This dataset will consist of data collected from the Hurricane Research Division, the Extended Best Track dataset, and the Weather Prediction Center, as well as data derived from the Northern Hemisphere Daily Synoptic Map Series and the six-hourly Atlantic Maps from the National Hurricane Center. Descriptive statistics for the data will be calculated, and the data will be analyzed for potential trends. This dataset can be used for reanalysis projects and will be made available to researchers and the general public.