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What is a Hurricane Radar?
To monitor and track the development and movement of a hurricane,
meteorologists rely on remote sensing by satellites, as well as data gathered
by specially equipped aircraft. On the ground, Regional Specialized
Meteorological Centers, a network of global centers designated by the World
Meteorological Organization, are charged with tracking and notifying the
public about extreme weather. Weather satellites use different sensors to
gather different types of information about hurricanes. They track visible
clouds and air circulation patterns, while radar measures rain, wind speeds
and precipitation. Infrared sensors also detect vital temperature differences
within the storm, as well as cloud heights. During a hurricane, instruments on
NOAA-20 and S-NPP capture data twice a day. These data are converted into
brightly colored pictures that reveal the structure, intensity and temperature of
a storm, along with other features, such as lightning and gravity waves.
NOAA’s GOES East and West satellites also show the storm’s evolution by
measuring infrared and visible radiation from the atmosphere and surface in
real-time. These measurements tell us about wind at various levels in the
atmosphere, sea surface temperatures and cloud properties. The imagery is
fundamental to locating where the storm is, knowing what direction it’s moving
and estimating its strength.

Storm Mapping

How to get and use weather data?
NOAA creates and distributes valuable weather information before,
during, and after hurricanes. Examples include rainfall forecasts, flash flood
warnings, wind speed forecasts, and cumulative rainfall estimates. Many of
these data sets are available on the Internet, but are scattered over many web
sites and are in different formats. The process usually starts with
downloading, converting, and displaying these data in a geographic
information system (GIS). A GIS allows users to display NOAA data with local
data (e.g. roads, critical facilities, and vulnerable populations) to get a better
picture of storm impacts on a community.
Insurance companies use weather data for real-time event preparation.
Weather data enables insurance companies to prepare their staff as well as
those they insure before any damage is done and can estimate potential
effects days before landfall. Tropical weather data is best delivered to insurers
in a way that works for them through options like weather visualization
software, customizable alerts, data streams and some other methods.
Weather data may also be used for post-event loss assessment.
Insurers and assessors can identify areas that require the most attention with
the use of weather data from the storm. Accurate historical weather data
enables insurers to see when and where conditions were most likely to cause
damage so they can send personnel to the most critical areas first. This way,
they can deploy catastrophe response operations, issue moratoriums and
predict financial impact faster.

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