National Hurricane Center
April 21, 2009
al872009_pts
vector digital data
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gis
The NHC working best track shapefile is an experimental product that the
National Hurricane Center is testing during the 2009 hurricane season.
The working best track is a subjectively-smoothed representation of the tropical cyclone's
location and intensity (maximum 1-minute sustained surface wind speed and minimum
sea-level pressure) at 6 hour intervals over its lifetime. The
working best track may not exactly match the information contained in the
real-time storm advisories because the data in a working best track are
subject to modification during the life cycle of the cyclone.
(Note: The "working best track" represents the forecasters' best estimates of the
location, intensity, and size of a tropical cyclone while the cyclone is ongoing.
After the life cycle is complete, forecasters prepare a "final best track", using
data that might not have been available operationally, and it is the final best
track that represents NHC's official historical record for the cyclone.)
The working best track is a subjectively-smoothed representation of the tropical cyclone's
location and intensity (maximum 1-minute sustained surface wind speed and minimum
sea-level pressure) at 6 hour interval over its lifetime. In general, the working best
track will not reflect the erratic motion implied by connecting the individual center
fix positions.
These data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the
national level, and for large regional areas. The data should be displayed and
analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the use of these data.
April 21, 2009
None planned
-82.500000
-67.400002
21.600000
13.500000
None
Hurricane
Hurricane Track
Tropical Storm
Subtropical storm
Subtropical depression
Tropical disturbance
Tropical Wave
Tropical low
Extratropical storm
Major hurricane
Tropical cyclone
Subtropical cyclone
None
United States
Atlantic
North Atlantic Basin
Gulf of Mexico
Caribbean Sea
Pacific Islands
Eastern North Pacific Basin
None
None. Acknowledgement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, National Environmental Prediction Center or the National Hurricane Center would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
GIS POC
National Hurricane Center / Technical Support Branch
physical address
11691 SW 17th St.
Miami
FL
33165
USA
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.2.4.1420
Vector
Entity point
25
0.1
0.1
Decimal degrees
D_Sphere
Sphere
6371200.000000
infinity
al872009_pts
FID
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Shape
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Coordinates defining the features.
STORMNAME
name given to each tropical cyclone for which the National Hurricane Center is writing forecast advisories
STORMTYPE
category of the tropical cyclone according to the initial intensity
TD
Tropical Depression
TS
Tropical Storm
HU
Hurricane
DB
Disturbance
STORMNUM
the sequential numbering of tropical cyclones for a specific forecast basin according to when the first advisory is issued
BASIN
the ocean where the tropical cyclone is located
AL
Atlantic
EP
East Pacific
LAT
distance north or south from the equator of the center of the tropical cyclone (decimal degrees)
LON
distance east or west on the earth's surface from the prime meridian at Greenwich, England of the center of the tropcical cyclone (decimal degrees)
TAU
number of hours from the forecast valid time for which a forecast is made
INTENSITY
the highest 1-minute average wind (at an elevation of 10 meters without an unobstructed exposure) associated with a tropical cyclone at a particular point in time (knots)
MSLP
the estimated sea level pressure at the center of a tropical cyclone (the lowest pressure in the system in Millibars)
DTG
The valid date and time of the data in UTC.
SS
The Saffir Simpson Hurricane Scale. The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a 1-5 rating based on the hurricane's present intensity.
This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall.
Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf and
the shape of the coastline, in the landfall region. Note that all winds are using the U.S. 1-minute average.
Downloadable Data
No responsibility is assumed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the use of these data.
April 21, 2009
National Hurricane Center
GIS POC
Technical Support Branch
physical address
11691 SW 17th St.
Miami
FL
33178
USA
305-229-4400
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998
local time
http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html
ESRI Metadata Profile