Operational use of CIMSS objective dvorak technique

The Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB) of the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) prepares satellite intensity and position estimates for tropical systems around the world. For the last two years, SAB has employed an objective Dvorak technique (ODT) developed by the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) to aid in the classifications of tropical cyclones of hurricane intensity. A comparison of the ODT results against reconnaissance data from the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season will be presented.