RAPID: 2018 Hurricane Season -- Study of Hurricane Florence at Landfall

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This RAPID project seeks to take advantage of a unique data set captured during the landfall of Hurricane Florence in North Carolina during 13-14 September 2018. The University of Oklahoma C-band SR3 SMART radar, along with four Portable Integrated Precipitation Sensors (PIPS), and a mobile mesonet with radiosonde capability deployed in advance of Florence and collected more than 30 hours of radar and PIPS data along with twelve radiosonde profiles as the storm came ashore. The SR3 radar formed a 50 km baseline with the Wilmington NWS WSR-88D, providing two areas in which wind retrievals were able to be performed. The slow-moving center of circulation passed through both dual-Doppler lobes and generated numerous vortex Rossby wave (VRW) driven inner core rain bands and numerous mesovortices along the inner edge of the shrinking eyewall.Intellectual Merit:The data will be used to address the following scientific questions: (i) how frequently are asymmetries in the eyewall able to shed VRWs? (ii) what mechanisms appear to control the frequency of VRWs? (iii) to what extent do VRWs appear to be correlated to the formation of mesovortices along the inner edge of the eyewall? (iv) to what extent do eyewall mesovortices contribute to the maximum near-surface wind observed during landfall? (v) how do propagating VRWs modulate the boundary layer winds, thermodynamics, and atmospheric pressure? (vi) how is the observed damage to built structures related to attributes of the wind field?Much effort remains to be performed to quality assure the data and generate high quality wind fields for the research as well as to provide an unprecedented data set for validation of high-resolution numerical simulations of Florence. The RAPID grant would allow immediate processing of the data, ensuring quick publication of the research-quality radar-derived wind fields and PIPs data that would enable future research strategies by the PI and numerous other NSF sponsored researchers.Broader Impacts:This RAPID grant would encourage continued university support for SMART radar deployments in landfalling hurricanes. Data from the SMART radar deployment during Florence were distributed in realtime to the NWS and emergency managers office as well as the Office of Federal Coordinator in Meteorology through the Disaster Impacts Assessment Plan distribution list, which includes FEMA. Real-time winds were also sent to the NOAA National Hurricane Center. Additionally, the SMART radar data are used in graduate and undergraduate education at University of Oklahoma and made available to other university instructors for use in their class. Finally, the wind attribute maps (WAMs) generated from this research will be highly valued by the wind engineering community as they evaluate the causes of damage to structures along the coast and by the modeling community since the wind fields are needed for advanced validation of numerical simulations of landfalling tropical cyclones. The project will embrace collaborations with faculty at Texas Tech University, the University of Florida, Auburn University, and University of Illinois.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.