The National Hurricane Research Project: 50 Years of Research, Rough Rides, and Name Changes

Abstract

After the disastrous Atlantic hurricane season of 1954, the Weather Bureau created the National Hurricane Research Project (NHRP) to advance tropical cyclone science and improve forecasts. In the late 1950s, NHRP pioneered quantitative observations with instrumented aircraft and shaped the modern understanding of tropical cyclones. By the early 1960s, it was intimately involved in Project STORMFURY, the U.S. Government's hurricane modification program. During this time, it was collocated with the Miami, Florida, hurricane forecast office, and became a permanent laboratory. Its scientists became involved in international experiments and collaborated with researchers from around the world. In the 1970s, its theoretical and computer modeling work advanced, supporting STORMFURY. The project required the acquisition of new aircraft. Ironically, the improved instrumentation led to the dissolution of STORMFURY in 1983. Researchers found new avenues of investigation, including hurricane climatology, synoptic flow interaction, tropical cyclone dynamics, and improving intensity forecasts.