How are Hurricanes Tracked?

Technology is the answer. Scientists now have the assistance of computer modeling and advanced weather-tracking programs as the put together a forecast for tropical storms and hurricanes. Even with the most sophisticated, sensitive equipment, a hurricane can change quickly, in the most unpredictable way, leaving meteorologists stunned and confused.

Methods used to gather information about hurricanes include: planes flying in and around storm areas, taking measurements and recording data with on-board equipment; information from satellites orbiting the earth (photo images and data); models created based on information provided from various sources; knowledge gained from years of studying major storms.

Electronic equipment records such information as air temperature, wind direction, barometric pressure, ocean-surface conditions and so on. Scientists combine this information with distance from land to predict which direction a hurricane will travel. Most of the effort is put into predicting when and where a hurricane will touch land.

Accurate, Not Perfect

The best hurricane-tracking information will be quite accurate for a 24-hour period, much like weather predictions. Even with the best information, from the most-sensitive equipment, it is difficult to predict where a hurricane will be two or three days in the future. Conditions may change so dramatically in that time that the storm may dissipate, strengthen significantly or even turn in a completely new direction.
If a strong hurricane made of strong, rotating winds comes into contact with a strong area of low or high pressure, the storm’s path can change quite a bit. Though computers now have the capability of taking many of these factors into consideration, reaching 100 percent accuracy is a goal that is seldom reached.

But scientists have developed enough possible scenarios based on past storms to give ocean-front populations several days of warning about powerful storms. Beginning with a very accurate description of the storm and a current location, meteorologists can begin to put together possible paths and predictions of strength. Again, current location is identified by actual sighting of the storm, as well as by satellite images.

Radar has been used for decades to locate objects in the distance. It’s a fact that ships and planes could not navigate as safely without radar as they do with this technology. Radar can also detect large storms and cloud formations because these weather conditions are dense. They provide radar equipment with enough solid mass to be “seen” on the radar screen. This is a basic and very important tool for hurricane forecasting.

Hurricane locations can be stated in numbers indicating longitude and latitude – the distance north/south or east/west on the planet’s surface. Meteorologists and other storm trackers use specific symbols to indicate tropical storms and hurricanes on maps and on computer screens. A hurricane has winds of a higher speed than a tropical storm or a tropical disturbance. Once the wind speed of a storm is determined that storm can be named, located and the tracking process can begin.

In summary, hurricane tracking is not an exact science but new technology has made the task much easier and the results much more accurate.