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QuickLook and Post-Storm Reports

The CO-OPS Storm QuickLook product provides a synopsis of near real-time oceanographic and meteorological observations at locations affected by a tropical cyclone. It is initiated when an NWS storm center issues a tropical storm warning for the U.S. or its island possessions, and is updated four times per day (about one hour after standard NWS public advisories are issued) unless special circumstances, such as storm landfall, dictate otherwise. The Storm QuickLook is displayed on CO-OPS web pages and is also linked through NOAAWatch, the NOAA All-Hazard Monitor. Post-storm reports are created (depending on a storm's strength and effects on water levels) using verified data and provide an overview of the storm water level impacts. Technical reports also supply a more detailed analysis of storm-induced water levels and historical storm comparisons.


Within the Storm QuickLook interface, selected CO-OPS water level and meteorological time-series plots are updated in near real-time and undergo continuous review by the CO-OPS quality control system,CORMS. The primary vertical reference datum for water level station data is Mean Lower Low Water(MLLW); however, users can change the station reference to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988(NAVD88), when available. Also, the Mean Higher High Water datum is displayed on the plots as a reference point because a storm making landfall during a high tide would result in a higher storm tide than if the storm made landfall during a low tide; thus greater levels of inundation would occur during a high tide. These different references assist duration of inundation estimates, which in part reveal the degree of potential damage. Meteorological data included are generally winds (speed, direction and gust) barometric pressure, and air temperature.


In addition to the plots, a map containing an overlay of NOAA satellite imagery and NWS forecast information displays storm characteristics relative to CO-OPS measurement stations. The storm tide analysis provides a descriptive summary of observed water level and meteorological data at the selected stations for which plots are displayed, and also notes the next predicted high tides.

Text Box: Storm tides are a combination of storm surge and astronomical tides together with wind driven wave setup and any anomalies due to regional atmospheric conditions.


Beginning in 2007, all QuickLooks are automatically archived and any previous years of archived QuickLooks are for landfall times only. Although current efforts are focused on tropical systems, future QuickLooks will also encompass Nor'easters.

 
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