Greg Mandt NOAA NWS Office of Science and Technology 01 Feb 07

1. NOAA’s response strategy to the Hurricane Iintensity Research Working Group (HIRWG) and related recommendations Greg Mandt NOAA NWS Office of Science and Technology 01 Feb 07 11-Jan-07 DRAFT 1

2. Outline • Purpose • Issue • Background & Discussion • Alternatives • Coordination and Views • Output • Recommendation

3. Purpose • Inform the NEP about the HIWRG and NSB reports - • Solicit NEP feedback on proposed strategy to formulate a NOAA response to satisfy request for a final briefing at the Fall 07 SAB • e.g., Constraints on the response?

4. Issue • NOAA SAB chartered the High Intensity Working Group (HIRWG) to recommend how can NOAA further improve and advance hurricane intensity forecasting • NOAA Research Council tasked W/OST with preparing a response to the recommendations in the HIRWG and related reports

5. Background & Discussion • HIWRG issued final reports Jun06- • Majority report – 29 recomendations • Minority report – 7 recommendations • NOAA offices provided informal feedback to earlier version but NOAA has no formal response yet • National Science Board (NSB) report Nov06 Hurricane Warning: The Critical Need for a National Hurricane Research Initiative – • NSF Ratification expected soon (10Feb07) • NSB briefed NOAA SAB • Proposes creation of multi-agency National Hurricane Research Initiative (NHRI) to implement general recommendations • Proposed bipartisan legislation [Sen. Martínez (FL)] makes NSF and NOAA the NHRI’s lead agencies • Four major investment themes call for $300M additional funding along with prioritized recommendations

6. Proposed Strategy • Evaluate the recommendations in the various NOAA plans, identify gaps, and issue NOAA action plan dealing with HIRWG and NSB reports - • OST chartered working team – • Team has representation from the various interested programs (LFW, EMP, STI) and LOs (NWS, NHC, NCEP, OAR, AOML/HRD, ESRL; NESDIS pending) • Team contains all but ocean concerns (requested deferring their participation) • Water and Weather Hurricane and Related Inundation (HI) cross-cutting theme plan is starting point- • addresses many (but not all) HIRWG recommendations • HI POP provides detailed and comprehensive programmatic alternatives addressing many of the HIRWG issues • developed in coordination with • LOs: OAR, NWS, NOS, NESDIS • CEO, EMP, W+W’s LFW, Hydrology, Tsunami and STI programs • HI plan larger than what was adopted by STI • PA&E evaluated alternatives • PDM coming shortly Team will evaluate PPBES and other internal alternatives against known gaps and emerging organizational and intergovernmental thrusts • Assumes additional resources and redirection are an option

7. High-Level HIRWG Majority Report Recommendations and W&W Response (pending PDM) • HWRF model enhancements (including data assimilation & ensembles) • Coupled ocean-atmosphere model with appropriate physics • Accelerate achievement of 1 km model resolution • Field studies to improve and evaluate models • Utilize radar for modeling • Evaluate observing strategies • Upper ocean observations  Improved operations-research collaboration on modeling  Joint Hurricane Testbed and Developmental Testbed Center  Improve usefulness of forecasts through multidisciplinary research, including social science  Test reduced form models  Data archival system to make data sets available to research community  Limit how Saffir-Simpson scale is used  Develop a more complete suite of information  = Fully or Partially Addressed in Program Plan  = Included in Above Core = Not Addressed

8. Alternatives • Status Quo is a scattering of plans addressing hurricane intensity forecasting and research- • Pro: each office/planning activity states its vision • Con: lack of coherence, resource conflict, less coordination • Risk: High failure probability • Fiscal ramifications: Potential duplication of effort • Proposed Alternative: Produce unified NOAA Response Action Plan- • Pro: coherent and unifying; far-reaching; high-visibility; end-to-end; consistent with PPBES framework; metrics; may reduce duplication • Con: compromises will be required • Risk: TBD • Fiscal ramifications: may require additional resources and potential capability modification; farther reaching than PPBES temporally

9. Coordination & NEP/Council Views • Coordination with: • NWS, OAR • PPBES/W+W, STI, LFW, CEO (later) • NEP/Council Views TBD: • NEP • CFO Council (required for any recommendation that costs money) • Other Relevant Council(s)

10. Output • Provide response strategy to HIRWG and NSB reports for briefing at the Fall07 SAB meeting • Potential Unified NOAA Hurricane Intensity Action Plan • Addresses and assesses HIWRG and NSB reports • Consolidates and guides relevant cross-NOAA activities

11. Recommendation • Endorse the proposed strategy and team composition