P37 Modeling extreme events with a coupled WRF-ROMS modeling system

Mooney, Priscilla A., Frank Mulligan, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Brian Bonnlander, and Cindy Bruyere, National Center for Atmospheric Research

We investigate the ability of a coupled regional atmosphere-ocean modelling system to simulate two extreme events in the North Atlantic. In this study we use the Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST; Warner et al., 2010) modelling system with only the atmosphere and ocean models activated. COAWST couples the atmosphere model (Weather Research and Forecasting model; WRF) to the ocean model (Regional Ocean Modelling System; ROMS) with the Model Coupling Toolkit. Results from the coupled system are compared with atmosphere only simulations of North Atlantic storms to evaluate the performance of the coupled modelling system. Two extreme events (Hurricane Katia and Hurricane Irene) were chosen to assess the level of improvement (or otherwise) arising from coupling WRF with ROMS. These two hurricanes involve different dynamics and present different challenges to the modeling system. Modelled storm tracks, storm intensities and sea surface temperatures are compared with observations to appraise the coupled modelling system’s simulation of these two extreme events.