Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:28, 13 August 2023

Revision as of 07:54, 18 August 2023

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[[File:Ernesto2006modelspread.png|thumb|350px|This is how forecast model tracks appear within ATCF. This example is from [[Hurricane Ernesto (2006)|2006 Ernesto]]'s first advisory. The [[National Hurricane Center|NHC]] official forecast is light blue, while the storm's actual track is the white line over [[Florida]].]]

The '''Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System''' ('''ATCF''') is a piece of software originally developed to run on a [[personal computer]] for the [[Joint Typhoon Warning Center]] (JTWC) in 1988,<ref name="ATCF1">{{cite journal|journal=Weather and Forecasting|pages=653–660|date=December 1990|author1=Ronald J. Miller |author2=Ann J. Schrader |author3=Charles R. Sampson |author4=Ted L. Tsui |name-list-style=amp |doi=10.1175/1520-0434(1990)005<0653:TATCFS>2.0.CO;2|title=The Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System (ATCF)|volume=5|issue=4|bibcode = 1990WtFor...5..653M |doi-access=free}}</ref> and the [[National Hurricane Center]] (NHC) in 1990. ATCF remains the main piece of [[tropical cyclone forecasting|forecasting]] software used for the [[United States Government]], including the JTWC, NHC, and [[Central Pacific Hurricane Center]]. Other tropical cyclone centers in Australia and Canada developed similar software in the 1990s. The data files with ATCF lie within three decks, known as the a-, b-, and f-decks. The a-decks include forecast information, the b-decks contain a history of center fixes at synoptic hours, and the f-decks include the various fixes made by various analysis center at various times. In the years since its introduction, it has been adapted to [[Unix]] and [[Linux]] platforms.

==Reason for development==