Hurricane Danny
Hurricane Danny was a slow moving category 1 hurricane in July, 1997 that made landfall on the coast of Louisiana and Alabama. It produced extreme precipitation over S. Alabama with estimates of 43 inches in some places. Due to its slow movement and proximity to the WSR-88D radars at Slidell and Mobile for more than 48 hours, nearly continuous measurements were recorded for an extended period. This case, therefore, provides a unique opportunity for a mesoscale verification of a high-resolution model simulation of a hurricane at landfall.
A series of numerical simulations of Hurricane Danny, from genesis to landfall, were run using MM5. The resolution ranged from 81 km down to 1 km, and then the numerical results were compared to the observed radar data.
With 1 km resolution, the model simulated a complete eyewall with multiple rain bands with a structure similar to the radar analysis. Additionally, the maximum model wind speed reached 39 m/s, which was a good match with the observed measurements.
The animation loops over a 12 hour period showing Hurricane Danny as it nears landfall.
There are 3 animations associated with this visualization
1. Accumulated surface precipitation on a 2D ground plane (blue shows highest
values)
2. 3D precipitation (Rain + Snow) as a blue isosurface
3. 3D Cloud water + ice.
| Model | |
Model: |
MM5 |
| Data | |
Spatial Resolution: |
1 KM resolution, 19 KM in the vertical |
Domain Resolution: |
421x391x31 |
Time Resolution: |
6 minutes |
Real Time: |
12 hours |
