P14  Assimilation of Hurricane Inner Core 3D Winds using WRF   4DVar

Chen, Shuyi S., Ronald Gordon, Patricia Sanchez, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmopsheric Science(RSMAS)/University of Miami, Hans Huang and Xin Zhang, NCAR/MMM

One of the most challenging issues in hurricane intensity forecasting is the lack of accurate initial condition for hurricane inner core structure in prediction models. This study has been designed to examine the impact of assimilating the airborne Doppler radar 3D wind fields collected in the hurricane inner core on the hurricane structure and intensity forecasts.  A number of experiments have been conducted using the WRF 4DVar data assimilation of the high-resolution Doppler radar winds in Hurricane Ike, which not only show a significant impact on storm structure but also help identify issues for assimilating high-resolution data.