Surface Wind Analysis

Since 1996 the Hurricane Research Division has participated in the H*Wind Project. The purpose is to develop an integrated tropical cyclone observing system in which wind measurements from a variety of observation platforms could be used to develop an objective analysis of the distribution of wind speeds in a hurricane. This product is designed to improve understanding of the extent and strength of the wind field, and to improve the assessment of hurricane intensity. The experimental H*Wind "snapshot" products are provided in image and gridded form for research purposes and have been especially useful for storm surge and wave forecasting applications. The experimental swath map is a relatively new product that is also available in image and gridded form as well as GIS shape files. The swath maps are helpful for damage and loss assessment.

By clicking on a year listed above you may select from that year's list of storms. You will see which analyses have been produced. For each analysis time you may select the wind analysis itself, the data set on which is was based, or, where available, the gridded field of that analysis.

If you make use of these H*Wind products, please take a moment to fill out our User Survey Form.

Scientific publications using H*Wind products should cite one or more of these papers :

If you have problems downloading H*Wind analyses from the FTP site, click here.