Typhoon Tom was born in the tropical Pacific at the same time as Violet. Although over the last decade reasonably accurate numerical weather prediction models have been developed to forecast typhoon movement, the models' predictive abilities are only as good as the input data. However, as typhoons and hurricanes leave the tropics and enter the westerly wind belt, they often change their character and evolve into strong mid-latitude storms. Understanding this dynamic requires data on wind currents. Satellite imagery may help to locate storms, but do not reveal surface intensity, he said.
Models are similarly inadequate.
Storm transition is a fascinating science problem, with important economic consequences. Transitions occur over the busiest trans-ocean shipping lanes, and if resulting storms ever hit land, they usually devastate populated areas. The instrument is expected to provide more than 100 times the amount of ocean wind information currently available from ship reports. A radar instrument, the scatterometer is capable of taking data day or night, regardless of sunlight or weather conditions. In October, data from the scatterometer began to pour in.