Tropical Cyclones and Hurricanes: Observations

Abstract This article describes advances in airborne, spaceborne, and ground-based systems and technologies used to observe tropical cyclones (TCs), as well as the applications and products that are derived from them. These descriptions include new instrumentation onboard manned aircraft and the development and use of unmanned aircraft, new spaceborne platforms with extremely high spatial and temporal resolution and the plethora of products that exploit these capabilities, and advances in the observations of TC structure changes that accompany landfall through the use of ground-based remote sensing and in situ technologies. An exciting recent development is the increasing use of these technologies in TC-prone regions throughout the world. This global network of observations helps to improve the understanding and prediction of TCs by providing an improved specification of the atmospheric state as well as a robust evaluation of numerical models; improving situational awareness of the location, intensity, and structure of TCs; and developing and testing theories on TC structure and evolution.