Abstract:

A gridded hourly database at 0.01 degree spacing for the northern Gulf of Mexico was developed from October 18-31, 2015 during tropical cyclone Patricia. It combines 4 data sources to create 13 meteorological parameters in NetCDF format. Data sources include: the Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA), the North American Mesoscale Forecast System (NAM), the Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD), and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). These data sources provide 2-meter temperature, relative humidity, surface pressure, 10-meter u and v wind components, sea surface temperature, cloud fraction, downward shortwave radiation flux, downward longwave radiation flux and one hour precipitation total. Additional parameters including the surface u and v momentum stresses, and sensible heat flux, were calculated using the Florida State University’s Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (COARE) algorithm.

Suggested Citation:

Dr. Patrick Fitzpatrick, Yee H. Lau. 2019. A meteorology database of Hurricane Patricia's remnants along the Northern Gulf Coast. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7Q52MQ8

Purpose:

During late October of 2015, tropical cyclone Patricia's remnants impacted the atmospheric and oceanic conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM). Patricia formed in the eastern North Pacific Ocean, and rapidly intensified to an intensity of 95 ms-1 (872 mb) at 1200 UTC on October 23, the strongest hurricane on record in the basin. The hurricane then weakened and made landfall on the coast of southwestern Mexico as a category 4 hurricane at 2300 UTC on October 23. The hurricane continued to weaken rapidly during the next several hours while it moved over the high terrain of the Sierra Madre mountains. The mid-level center raced northeastward and separated from the low-level center on early October 24.The system lost coherence that day and was officially labeled dissipated later that morning. The combination of the mid-level shortwave associated with Patricia, near-record precipitable water values of 63.5 mm, and interactions with an upper-level trough moving in from New Mexico induced cyclogenesis in South Texas. This low pressure system formation was associated with 10-12 inches of rain around Corpus Christi and Houston, resulting in flood damage and rescue operations. As the system progressed along NGOM, its evolving structure included a cold front to its south, and complicated occluded/warm fronts extending from its east and north side. This resulted in several wind discontinuities around the cyclone. The low also created storm surge conditions of 0.6-1.2 meters in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Data Parameters and Units:

2-meter temperature (Celsius), relative humidity (rha, Percentage), surface pressure (mb), 10-meter u and v wind components (m/s), sea surface temperature (sst, Celsius), cloud fraction (decimal), downward shortwave radiation flux (DSWRF, Watts/m2), downward longwave radiation flux (DLWRF, Watts/m2), one hour precipitation total (precip1Hr, mm/hr), surface u and v momentum stresses (N/m2), and sensible heat flux (Watts/m2).

Provenance and Historical References:

This dataset was initially accepted on 2016-10-14 and was updated on 2019-02-28. The values in the variables "surfaceVMomentumStress" and "surfaceUMomentumStress" were modified to correct an error in which the output was always absolute values.

Publications:

Dzwonkowski, B., Greer, A. T., Briseño-Avena, C., Krause, J. W., Soto, I. M., Hernandez, F. J., … Graham, W. M. (2017). Estuarine influence on biogeochemical properties of the Alabama shelf during the fall season. Continental Shelf Research, 140, 96–109. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2017.05.001

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