Boundary Layer Observations and Near-Surface Wind Estimation During the Landfalls of Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Zeta (2020)

Leffler, Zebulon W.; Chen, Xiaomin; Carey, Lawrence D.; Knupp, Kevin; Lee, Wen-Chau

doi:10.1029/2025GL117487

i

Boundary Layer Observations and Near-Surface Wind Estimation During the Landfalls of Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Zeta (2020)

Supporting Files

2025
By Leffler, Zebulon W. ; Chen, Xiaomin ; Carey, Lawrence D. ; ...

Details

Journal Title:

Geophysical Research Letters
Personal Author:

Leffler, Zebulon W. ; Chen, Xiaomin ; Carey, Lawrence D. ; Knupp, Kevin ; Lee, Wen-Chau
NOAA Program & Office:

OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
Description:

This study examines the boundary layer wind profile and turbulence variables during the landfalls of Hurricanes Ida (2021) and Zeta (2020) using ground-based Doppler radar observations and a nearby anemometer's wind measurements. While the radar sampled different parts of the hurricane circulation of the two cases, the observed maximum near-surface wind and frictional velocity were similar. Radar-retrieved wind profiles in both hurricanes revealed a boundary-layer jet generally >1 km AGL, descending toward smaller radii as the hurricanes moved inland. A “knee-like” structure in most wind profiles below the jet suggests an internal boundary layer (IBL) below 200 m and a log layer above it. Among the three methods for estimating near-surface sustained winds from radar-retrieved winds, leveraging low-level IBL winds improves estimation accuracy and reduces the uncertainty to the selection of upstream surface roughness length. These findings offer valuable guidance for developing future probabilistic near-surface wind products.
Keywords:

Boundary Layer Doppler Radar Hurricane Ida, 2021 Hurricanes Winds Boundary Layer Doppler Radar Hurricane Zeta, 2020 Near-surface Wind
Source:

Geophysical Research Letters, 52, e2025GL117487
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL117487
Format:

PDF
Document Type:

Journal Article
Funding:

Grant no. NA23OAR4590380
License:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Rights Information:

CC BY-NC-ND
Compliance:

Submitted
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:6bea4eb7586460e48602437496fc83b949855d81bc366f0c22cddff26e696ad7caf7cf05fb39c61ce9afc1a138518a1cd0a92de13d7d990828347dd78d7b3884
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/71908/noaa_71908_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 3.73 MB ]

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