This site will not be updated very much for the next few days
This site is still under development. For now, the site will be this one page. I would like any weather links that anyone has. Until I get this site more developed, you can send them here. If there are any problems or inaccuracies below, let me know.
Eventually this will be a site filled with links to hurricane resources which will be organized by what you are looking for. I'll also have pages dedicated to specific locations. It's going to constantly be a work in progress.
PLEASE NOTE: This site is not automatically updated. This site is simply designed to link you to information, not provide the latest information. Consider us as nothing more than a page full of bookmarks. Do not assume that because we present one site before another that we are implying that one site has better information that another. The owner of this site is not a weather professional and cannot make that determination. Many of the sites we link you to are mostly products that are used by weather professionals. For official Atlantic hurricane information, please refer to the National Hurricane Center.
DO NOT RELY ON ANY UNOFFICIAL SOURCES IN LIFE OR DEATH DECISIONS.
Tropical Storm Alberto
Jump to an area on this page using the following menu...
Current National Hurricane Center Advisories
Satellite
Vortex Plot
Colorado State's Model Data...
South Florida Water Management District Model Data (SFWMD)
Methaz.org Model Data (from the Kinetic Analysis Corporation and UCF)
More Model Data...
Radars
National Weather Service Forecasts
National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) Monterey Marine Meteorology Division: Tropical Cyclone Page
Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP)
Latest Sea Surface Temperatures
Wind Shear
QuikSCAT Surface Winds
Tidal Data from NOAA
More Satellite Imagery
Other Model Sites
Buoy Data
Marine Observations
Aircraft Recon
Current Cyclone Generation Probability
Advanced Dvorak Technique
Dvorak Current Intensity Chart
National Hurricane Center Discussion & Outlook
Hurricane Names
Various NHC Reports
Inland Wind Model
Web Cameras
Other Sites
This post contains a whole lot of information. It is designed to be helpful for people who may be looking for all the different sites we look at during the season.
This post has some information that does not necessarily pertain to this storm, though it may be helpful for 90L and/or other storms this season.
Latest Storm Floater 1 Images: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/float1.html
Question about one of the toggle options on the satellite loops? Click here.
Current National Hurricane Center Advisories
Public Advisory
Aviso Publico (Spanish Public Advisory)
Forecast Discussion
Forecast/Advisory
3 Day Forecast Map (And other maps and charts)
Wind Speed Probabilities
Satellite
Storm Floater 1 Images and Loops
NRL Site - Select "01L.ALBERTO" in the left column for a satellite image. (Although, it's currently on the front page.)
More areas in the Atlantic Basin
South Florida Water Management District's High Resolution Satellite Imagery of the Guld of Mexico
Vortex Plot
This is a really nice vortex plot:
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/omd/ops/weather/vortex.html
You can see if the storm is on track or not.
More from SFWMD's NHC derived products: http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/omd/ops/weather/3_hurr.html
Colorado State's Model Data...
The Colorado state model site has a lot of models on 4 images that come out every 6 hours.
To get the model imagery, under the header "Atlantic Basin," you will find the four products available. The newest data available will be under "frame 1" while the oldest under "frame 5." When there are multiple systems, frame 1 might be one system and frame 2 another system. At times, you might find that "frame 1" on one of the guidance images contains a different storm than "frame 1" on another guidance images. Just do a little searching.
You may wonder why the time in the Early and Intensity images differe from those in the Late and GFS images. Click here for the reason why.
The Colorado state updates at 4AM, 10AM, 4PM, and 10PM EDT (0200, 0800, 1400, and 2000 UTC) daily. Last season, it usually updated almost exactly at those times, though sometimes it does skip a run.
South Florida Water Management District Model Data (SFWMD)
The GFDL, BAMM, and BAMD models are updated very soon after the information is available from the FTP servers:
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/omd/ops/weather/plots/storm_01.gif
In case you are wondering, this location:
ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/model/
Is where you can find text model data that goes into creating this image. Go to the very bottom of that long page. There are a few different files you may run into. The GFDL model comes out in its own file. The other model data comes out in another file. The latest of both files will be located at the bottom. Each comes out every 6 hours. Keep in mind that the times are in UTC time. (currently 4 hours ahead of EDT) Also note that the SHIPS intensity model is in knots. (multiply by 1.15 to get mph)
You can open the file in a text editor. Sometimes it opens wrong. Try a different text editor then to open it. (Sometimes a file works in Notepad and not in Wordpad, and sometimes the other way around. But usually it always seems to open right in one of them.)
Methaz.org Model Data (from the Kinetic Analysis Corporation and UCF)
http://hurricane.methaz.org/tracking/
This is a great site. It's still going through some changes, so it may be out at times.
Go to that main page and find Alberto on it. Click "Click here to start Interactive Mapping for AL012006." Then you can just mess around with it. It has a lot of great features. Be sure to use the zoom to focus in on your area.
Also on that front page you will find this:
Reports based on KAC simulations of ALBERTO
That's what I love. Which model is doing the best with the system? That's the best tool. I find it extremely useful.
They used to have a lot of other data on it like airport, seaport, and oil production impact estimates. it also had county by county damage estimates. I can't find that data at the moment.
More Model Data...
Weather Underground:
http://maps.wunderground.com/data/images/at200601_model.gif
This image is also derived from the NHC model data that the SFWMD uses. However, this image does not update as fast as SFWMD. I include this link because unlike the SFWMD image, this one includes the SHIPS intensity model data. (calculated to mph) If you don't want to look on the FTP server at the NHC for that data, you can easily see it here when it updates.
Canadian (CMC)
GFS
NOGAPS
CMC, GFDL, GFS, MM5, NOGAPS, UKMET
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/tcgengifs/
This site runs somewhat behind the other model sites, though it is nice to look at their imagery over other sites that have the information.
Cyclone phase evolution: Analyses & Forecasts
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/cyclonephase/
This goes more in depth on the path. It shows you the line where the center is expected to travel along with some pressure and other data expected at the core. It too is not as up to date as the previously mentioned sites.
Other model sites are later on in this post.
Radars
Tampa, FL, USA:
Weather Underground radar with Storm Track:
Short Range - 124 miles | Long Range - 248 miles
Probably the best radar, with storm track, the ability to zoom in, and a huge variety of other features
Intellicast Region View - Good for a wide view of a region
NOAA Radar: Short Range | Long Range
124 mile range full screen radar image from SFWMD (Huge image loop)
Tallahassee, FL, USA:
Weather Underground radar with Storm Track:
Short Range - 124 miles | Long Range - 248 miles
Probably the best radar, with storm track, the ability to zoom in, and a huge variety of other features
NOAA Radar: Short Range | Long Range
Key West, FL, USA:
Weather Underground radar with Storm Track
Short Range - 124 miles | Long Range - 248 miles
Probably the best radar, with storm track, the ability to zoom in, and a huge variety of other features
Intellicast Region View - Good for a wide view of a region
NOAA Radar: Short Range | Long Range
124 mile range full screen radar image from SFWMD (Huge image loop)
For advanced radar types on the Weather Underground site, hover your mouse over the "Advanced Radar Types" image that is located along the left edge of the radar image.
National Weather Service Forecasts
Main site: http://www.noaa.gov/ - Enter your city and state for a forecast.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ifps/MapClick.php?CityName=Tampa&state=FL&site=TBW
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/FLZ078.php?warncounty=FLC087&city=Key+West
National Hurricane Center (NHC)
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
This is the official hurricane forecast center of the United States. If you visit one site, this is the place to go to get the latest official information. When a tropical feature has reached depression status, the front page will feature what you need to look at. Take a look at the "Public Advisory" which will appear on the front page under the heading of the tropical feature for easy to understand language. The site also features the expected track of the storm.
Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) Monterey Marine Meteorology Division: Tropical Cyclone Page
http://www.nrlmry.navy.mil/tc_pages/tc_home.html
This is an excellent resource. It provides wonderful visible satellite images of current cyclones and developing disturbances. It has an incredible amount of other data. This is usually the first site you will want to visit to see if a storm is developing. Under the "Atlantic" heading in the left column, you will see something like "90L.INVEST," which is an area of disturbed weather that is being monitored. This is not yet located on the front page of the NHC site. The NRL site, often referenced as the "Navy site," will usually have these areas of investigation listed before any other site. They do not always develop. When storm reaches depression status, then it will be located on the NHC's site. These areas of disturbed weather are numbered 90 through 99. When the number 99 is reached, we go back to 90.
Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP)
This site uses an experimental method to determine what the heat content is of the water. There are a couple of paragraphs you should read on these two pages for info:
Introduction
Methodology
Caribbean: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/cyclone/data/ca.html
Direct link to Gulf of Mexico June 11, 2006 TCHP image: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dataphod1/work/HHP/NEW/2006162go.jpg
They are a bit technical, but basically you want to know to look for the highest regions of TCHP. You do that by looking for warmest colors on the image. They have the highest heat content. 90 or higher is what cyclones like the best. The higher the number, the more energy the cyclone can get. Another important measurement is the depth of the 26 degree isotherm. The deeper that lies, the more warm waters near the surface the cyclone has. If the depth of the 26 degree isotherm is 100m, that storm has 100m of water than is 26 degrees or higher. If the depth is less, like 25m, then the warm water is much more shallow, which means the cyclone has warm water under it that doesn't go very deep.
If you want to compare this year's image to last year's image, simply change the date:
2006: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dataphod1/work/HHP/NEW/2006162go.jpg
2005: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dataphod1/work/HHP/NEW/2005162go.jpg
You can't go back farther than 2005. 162 means that the image is for the 162nd day of the year. For example, December 31 will be 365. (366 in a leap year)
Latest Sea Surface Temperatures
Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS):
- Daily SST
- Composite (3 day) SST
I first want to say that I recommend the 3 day average. It gives you the best idea of the SST's. The daily SST image often is very incomplete due to cloud cover. The 3 day average does not have that problem usually. The daily SST image can also be quite off while the 3 day average is a better estimate. To best use the above site, which is quite neat, click a region you wish to view SST's for. (Available regions: Caribbean Basin, Caribbean Basin SE, Florida East Shelf, Florida West Shelf, Gulf Of Mexico, United States East Coast, Cuba) Once on the next page you will see a thumbnail with the SST's for that region. Above that it will say "Current Imagery." All you need to do is click it to view the imagery. But wait, there is another way that gives you more information. Scroll down to the bottom of the page. You will see under this year's heading different months. Click the current month. On the next page you will see a lot of thumbnails. Only one thumbnail per day will be displayed if you use the 3 day average link. Once you click the thumbnail, a new page will open with the same image you would have had with the other method, but with two differences. You get a second window that pops up that contains the color coded SST key and also more importantly, you can click on any area of the map and see the temperature of that spot displayed below the image. This is a really great tool for practical use. If you really want to see something cool, download Google Earth and use those links. While it looks cool, it doesn't really serve as something that is useful.
More sites...
Rutgers University Coastal Ocean Observation Lab:
- SST's at an exact time during the day (About 9 images usually available)
- Daily Composite (A composite of 9 images taken throughout the day) SST
The composite image might be the best one to use. The first link contains the SST's that were taken with just one pass of the satellite at a specific time. It can be incomplete. The second link takes all the images that were taken that day, usually around 9, and averages them together. It is probably a more complete picture that way.
NOAA's Contour Charts
These images are a bit pixelated and may be harder to use.
This site for some reason only has this image available. It used to have a lot of images, but they seem to be unavailable:
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/latest_avhrr_big.png
Wind Shear
Wind speeds and wind shear:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/atlantic/winds/winds.html
Direct link to wind shear:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/atlantic/winds/wg8shr.html
Direct link to wind shear tendency:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/atlantic/winds/wg8sht.html
Has the wind shear lessened or become stronger over the past 24 hours?
Layer Mean Wind Analyses:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/real-time/atlantic/winds/winds-dlm.html
Steering currents at different pressure elevations. Not sure which to look at? How strong is the storm? Take a look at "Steering Layer ???-??? for TC MSLP of ???-???." If the cyclone has a pressure of 1010mb, the 700-850 might be more relevant. See "Product Interpretation" for more.
QuikSCAT Surface Winds
Here's some info on QuikSCAT, which can view fairly accurately through clouds...
Launch of QuikSCAT
About QuikSCAT
Current QuikSCAT winds
Current QuikSCAT winds for a particular storm
Latest wind vectors for Alberto:
http://manati.orbit.nesdis.noaa.gov/storm_at_image21/latest_at_0.html
Here's an even better site:
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/CGI/scat.cgi/plot=scat_atl/parentime=latest
IMPORTANT NOTE: The most easily seen dates are not the ones you want to focus on the most. Here's why...
I was looking at the scatterometer site one day and noticed someting very odd.
This site:
FNMOC High Resolution Scatterometer
Did not match some of the images from this site near the same time:
http://manati.orbit.nesdis.noaa.gov/quikscat/
So I tried to figure out why. The first thing is, the ascending images and descending images are taken at different times. For example, compare this ascending image to this descending image.
Despite giving a time at the top, ignore it. (Well, check what day it is.)
Look at the bottom. Not the very bottom text that gives the same time, but the purple times that exist in GMT. That is when the winds were measured. Not at the time on the top of the image.
But I couldn't figure out why they were so different until I noticed the smaller printed times. The time at the top of the image can update all it wants, but the winds don't.
The same is true at the military site (https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil). It contains the times in small black print near the wind field. It may give a time at the top, but that doesn't count as the actual time the winds were taken. (though it seems to give some kind of range) Notice how the winds in the Atlantic have different times than the Gulf and Carib. It's a different pass of the satellite. The image updates with a new time, but the flags may or may not change where you are looking. It doesn't seem like these sites update very often at all. Perhaps only a few times a day.
Here's some info from that site:
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/PUBLIC/SCAT/usage.html
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/PUBLIC/SCAT/data_details.html
If you want to know what ascending and descending means in this context, click here.
Tidal Data from NOAA
http://tidesonline.nos.noaa.gov/
This is where you'll be able to measure the sea rise and also take a look at other observations at reporting stations all along the coast.
Right now you'll want to probably check out stations in Florida. Click "State Maps" and then on the map click on Florida. From there, you'll be able to see all the stations in Florida. They are located on a map so that you can where each location is.
Once a station experiences abnormal tides, it may appear on the front page.
Most recently there was a "High Water Advisory" for these stations:
Cedar Key, FL
Apalachicola, FL
More Satellite Imagery
Latest Atlantic Satellite Imagery:
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/trop-atl.html
Lots of different satellite views and types can be viewed here. You can view images or loops. If you want to take a look at the tropics to find activity, this is the site to start from.
Latest colorized GOES-EAST image:
http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/goes/
This image looks nice. It may not be helpful for much of anything, but it does look nice. Sometimes I like to look at it at night because it makes it look as though it were a visible image. It can make some things clearer. It takes a long time to load. (it's about half of a megabyte)
South Florida Water Management District's High Resolution Satellite Imagery
Other Model Sites (some have already been focused on above)
http://euler.atmos.colostate.edu/~vigh/guidance/
http://hurricane.methaz.org/tracking/
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/cyclonephase/
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/tcgengifs/
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/PUBLIC/
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/omd/ops/weather/plots.html
http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/nwprod/analysis/
http://moe.met.fsu.edu/mm5/
http://met.psu.edu/tropical/tcgengifs/
http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/gmb/tpm/emctpc/ens/index.html
http://cirrus.sprl.umich.edu/wxnet/model/model.html
http://twister.sbs.ohio-state.edu/models.html
http://www.ecmwf.int/products/forecasts/d/charts/medium/deterministic/msl_uv850_z500 (Then select North America)
http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/animations.html
Buoy Data
National Data Buoy Center
- Florida buoys
- - Buoy 42036 (mentioned in June 12, 2006 11PM NHC Discussion)
- - - Wind Speed And Pressure Plot Graphically (Engligh | Metric)
- - Buoy 42003 (mentioned in June 12, 2006 5AM NHC Discussion)
On every page currently at the NDBC there is a link to the Storm Special. That contains information from observations from a variety of sources, including ships, within 250 nautical miles of Alberto. I can't provide a direct link because it is dependent on the current coordinates of the storm.
Marine Observations
Sailwx.info Pressure Observations
This site has other data too.
Oceanweather Inc: Current Marine Data
Click "marine observations."
Weather Underground:
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/flm.html
Aircraft Recon
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml
This page includes planned missions to investigate disturbed weather and storms and also vortex readings which are sent back even while the plane is still out there.
Direct links:
Today's Reconnaissance Flight Plan (How to read)
Tomorrow's Reconnaissance Flight Plan (How to read)
Latest vortex message (How to read)
For an easy to read vortex message, go here: http://flhurricane.com/recondecoder.php
Raw recon data from the NHC's FTP server: ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/pub/products/nhc/recon/
Current Cyclone Generation Probability
Main page: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/genesis.html
Real Time image: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/gparm/xyrfpr.gif
This is a computer generated product. It is an interesting product, but the percentages might be very incorrect.
Advanced Dvorak Technique
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/adt/
It estimates the pressure of a system. It's an experimental estimate that can be quite off, though it is often helpful in finding the center of a storm and to give you an idea if the system is possibly getting weaker or stronger. (The diagram available for the cyclone is good for that.) This resource is for developed tropical cyclones only.
Tropical Storm Alberto ADT: http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/adt/odt1.html
Take a look at these two images:
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/adt/ALBERTOP.GIF (Is it getting stronger or weaker?)
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/tropic/adt/ALBERTO.GIF (Where's the best guess on where the center is?)
Dvorak Current Intensity Chart
http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/CI-chart.html
If you know what the pressure is expected to be, you can use this approximate guide to see what the wind speed might be expected to be. It's definitely an estimate.
National Hurricane Center Discussion & Outlook
NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Discussion
Updated Daily at 2:05AM, 8:05AM, 2:05PM, 8:05PM EDT
NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook
Updated Daily at 5:30AM, 11:30AM, 5:30PM, 11:30PM EDT
Hurricane Names
Hurricane Names
For 2006: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie, William
In case we run out of names, we begin to use the Greek alphabet, which was first used in 2005.
Alpha, Beta, Gamma...
No need to list the whole Greek alphabet yet...
Various NHC Reports
NHC 2006 Hurricane Outlook
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml
Details what NOAA expects of the 2006 hurricane season.
National Hurricane Center Forecast Verification
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/verification/index.shtml
This is an excellent resource. You can take a look at some of the model error rates and NHC forecast error rates among other things.
2005 NHC Verification Report:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/verification/pdfs/Verification_2005.pdf (1.03MB)
Similar to the previous link, but focuses on the 2005 season's forecasts.
Inland Wind Model
High Wind Risk Areas:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/wind/risk_areas.shtml
An updated version of the previous wind model images that were hard to read.
Web Cameras
Near Tampa Bay...
http://www.baynews9.com/Sky9.html
http://www.wfts.com/cams/index.shtml
http://www.tampabays10.com/travel/traffic/cams.aspx
http://www.wtvt.com/weather/weather4.html
Other Sites
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
http://www.noaa.gov/
A huge website covering a vast array of topics.
Southeast River Forecast Center: Tropical Weather
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/serfc/tropical/default.html
US drought monitor:
http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
FLASH: Federal Alliance for Safe Home: Hurricanes
http://www.flash.org/activity.cfm?currentPeril=1
A great site about hurricane preparation.
Ready.gov: Natural Disasters: Hurricanes
http://www.ready.gov/america/hurricane.html
FEMA: 2006 Hurricane Season
http://www.fema.gov/hazard/hurricane/hu_season.shtm
Frequently Asked Questions About Hurricanes
http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html
Lots of questions answered.