North Atlantic Ocean Tropical Cyclone Dataset 1886-1992 Via FTP

BRIEF

The North Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Dataset, 1886-1992, contains position and intensity estimates every 6 hours for each storm. The North Atlantic 'best track' (so named as it is the 'best' track and intensity estimates of tropical cyclones as determined in a post-analysis of all available data) is maintained by the forecasters and researchers at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida. Permission to make free access of this data and documentation were provided by Dr. Robert Sheets - director of NHC and by Mr. Neal Lott of the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC. Questions regarding the format and/or errors in the documentation/data should be directed to Chris Landsea at Colorado State University.

Currently, the database extends from 1886 to 1992. The database filename is 'TRA86TO92.ATL available via FTP @ DOWNDRY.ATMOS.COLOSTATE.EDU (129.82.107.154). Login as ANONYMOUS, password as your EMAIL address and access the PUB directory. Updates for the coming year will be provided as soon as the analysis is final at NHC.

Though the data extends back to 1886, one is cautioned in deriving seasonal statistics back that many years. The advent of aircraft reconnaissnace in 1944 is suggested by C. Landsea and C.J. Neumann to be the start of reliable seasonal statistics on the frequency and duration of storms. However, as reported in Landsea (1993) there is a bias in the best track data in that strong hurricanes were over-reported in windstrength for the years 1944 to 1969. This bias amounted to a five knot bias at the 100kt threshold for major hurricane status. This bias of overestimation is even higher for yet stronger storms.

There are three basic types of datalines in the Best Track.

(1) TYPE A: MM/DD/Year = Month, Day, and Year of storm; Days = Number of days in which positions are available (note that this also means number of lines to follow of type B and then one line of type C); S# = Storm number for that particular year (including subtropical storms); Total# = Storm number since the beginning of the record (since 1886); Name = Storms only given official names since 1950; and #US Crossings = '1' = Made landfall over the United States as tropical storm or hurricane, '0' = did not make U.S. landfall.

(2) TYPE B: MM/DD = Month and Day of Storm; & = 'S' (Subtropical stage), '*' (tropical cyclone stage), 'E' (extratropical stage), 'W' (wave stage - rarely used); LatLong = Position of storm: 24.5N, 61.0W; Wind = Maximum sustained (1 minute) surface (10m) windspeed in knots (in general, these are to the nearest 5 knots); Press = Central surface pressure of storm in mb (if available); and Positions and intensities are at 00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z.

(3) TYPE C: Tp = Maximum intensity of storm ('HR' = hurricane, 'TS' = tropical storm, 'SS' = subtropical storm); and Hit = U.S. landfallings as hurricane ('LA' = Louisiana, etc.) and Saffir-Simpson category at landfall ('1' = minimal hurricane... '5' = super hurricane). (Note that Florida and Texas are split into smaller regions: 'AFL' = Northwest Florida, 'BFL' = Southwest Florida, 'CFL' = Southeast Florida, 'DFL' = Northeast Florida, 'ATX' = South Texas, 'BTX' = Central Texas, 'CTX' = North Texas.)

ATTRIBUTES

Entry_ID: NATC_CSU (MD Identifier: 3577)
 
Temporal Coverage:
     From: 1886-01-01                 TO: 1992-12-31 
 
Geographic Coverage:
     Southwest Extent: 0 ,95W      Northeast Extent:  30N,80W
 
Source:
     AIRCRAFT>U.S. Air Force Reconnaissance
 
Storage Media:
     On-line
 
Discipline, Subdiscipline:
     EARTH SCIENCE                   > ATMOSPHERE
     EARTH SCIENCE                   > OCEAN
 
Location Keyword:
     ATLANTIC OCEAN
     BOUNDARY LAYER
     EQUATORIAL
     SEA SURFACE
     TROPOSPHERE
 
Parameter Group, Parameter:
     ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS            > PRESSURE
     ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS            > STORMS
     ATMOSPHERIC DYNAMICS            > WINDS
     OCEAN DYNAMICS                  > WINDS
 
General Keywords:
     CARIBBEAN SEA
     FTP
     GULF OF MEXICO
     HURRICANES
     INTENSITY ESTIMATES
     MAXIMUM INTENSITIES
     MAXIMUM WIND SPEED
     NORTH ATLANTIC
     POSITION ESTIMATES
     SURFACE
     SURFACE PRESSURE
     TROPICAL CYCLONES
     UPPER AIR
     WIND SPEED
 
Revision Date: 1993-10-28

DATACENTER

Archive: 
   CSU>Colorado State University
   Data Set ID: TRA86TO92.ATL 
 
   Contact: LANDSEA, CHRIS 
            Department of Atmospheric Science
            Colorado State University
            Fort Collins, CO 80523
            USA
 
            Electronic Mail: INTERNET> LANDSEA@DOWNDRY.ATMOS.COLOSTATE.EDU
 
            Phone: (303) 491-8605
                   FAX (303) 491-8449

PERSONNEL

Entry Author: SCIALDONE, JOHN N.
              Hughes STX
              7701 Greenbelt Road, Suite 400
              Greenbelt, MD  20770
              USA
 
              Electronic Mail: INTERNET> SCIALDONE@NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV
                               NSI/DECnet> NCF::SCIALDONE
 
              Phone: (301) 441-4214
 
 
Information in this entry provided by CSU

REFERENCE


Jarvinen, B.R., C.J. Neumann, and M.A.S. Davis, 1984: 'A  Tropical Cyclone Data
Tape for the North Atlantic basin, 1886-1983; Contents, Limitations, and Uses',
_NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC 22_.

Landsea, C., 1993: 'A Climatology of Intense (or Major) Atlantic Hurricanes',
_Mon. Wea. Rev._, 121, 1703-1713.

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