The GFDL Hurricane Prediction System and Its Performance in the 1995 Hurricane Season

Abstract

The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Hurricane Prediction System was adopted by the U.S. National Weather Service as an operational hurricane prediction model in the 1995 hurricane season. The framework of the prediction model is described with emphasis on its unique features. The model uses a multiply nested movable mesh system to depict the interior structure of tropical cyclones. For cumulus parameterization, a soft moist convective adjustment scheme is used. The model initial condition is defined through a method of vortex replacement. It involves generation of a realistic hurricane vortex by a scheme of controlled spinup. Time integration of the model is carried out by a two-step iterative method that has a characteristic of frequency-selective damping. The outline of the prediction system is presented and the system performance in the 1995 hurricane season is briefly summarized. Both in the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific, the average track forecast errors are substantially reduced by the GFDL model, compared with forecasts by other models, particularly for the forecast periods beyond 36 h. Forecasts of Hurricane Luis and Hurricane Marilyn were especially skillful. A forecast bias is noticed in cases of Hurricane Opal and other storms in the Gulf of Mexico. The importance of accurate initial conditions, in both the environmental flow and the storm structure, is argued.