Hurricanes at landfall 2004 - Center for Severe Weather Research (cswr.org)

Highlights

Rita: DOW3 and the SCOUT instrumented vehicle deployed in Port Arthur late in the evening of Friday 23 September. The DOW was deployed in south Port Arthur and SCOUT about 2 km to its northeast. The DOW was about 8 km SSE of the BPT airport and 8 km SSW of the Florida T5 tower. Several hours of low level, 1.2 degree, survey scans were collected with update intervals of 12 s and gate spacing of 25 m. Data were oversampled in azimuth. Peak wind velocitieis in windstreaks were in excess of 50 m/s in the vigorous northwest eyewall segment. The edge of the reflectivity eye was approximately 6 km to the east of the DOW. Visual observations from SCOUT, 2km to the northeast, but still in south Port Arthur revealed a strong visibility gradient, with higher visibility to the east. Both the RM Young and Ultrasonic anemometers were lost late in the event, but it is hoped that good data were measured through most of the landfall. Radar and in situ data are in the process of being downloaded and processed. Crews and vehicles returned to Boulder and Norman.

Frances:Data were collected by DOW2 and DOW2 in the northern eyewall and eye of hurricane Frances. Direct onshore flow over the barrier islands and harbor provided an excellent opportunity to observe boundary layer structures as the flow first impinged on land. A 5.7 km baseline was established east of Fort Pierce, directly in the path of the right eyewall, the most intense portion of the storm. Gusts exceeding 50 m/s were observed at 10 m agl. Low level dual-Doppler scans were repeated every 10 seconds. This will permit ultra-high temporal resolution of the evolution of boundary layer wind streaks. Observations over or very near the destroyed Fort Pierce marina and the nuclear plant may prove valuable. Range resolution ranged from 13 to 38 m, with cross beam oversample resolution of approximately 30 m in the dual-Doppler lobes. Images will follow later.

Ivan:Data were collected in the northeastern and eastern eyewall and eye of hurricane Ivan. The DOWs were deployed at the Gulf Shores and Wolf airflields in southern Alabama. Peak wind gusts of 115 mph were observed with an anemometer on the DOW at Gulf Shores. Dual-Doppler wind observations over Gulf Shores and Ocean Beach, the areas which experiences the most intense portion of Ivan's eyewall, revealed intense wind streaks. Images will follow later.