Improving Tropical Cyclogenesis Forecasts of Hurricane Irma (2017) through the Assimilation of All-Sky Infrared Brightness Temperatures


The assimilation of satellite all-sky infrared (IR) brightness temperatures (BTs) has been shown in previous studies to improve intensity forecasts of tropical cyclones. In this study, we examine whether assimilating all-sky IR BTs can also potentially improve tropical cyclogenesis forecasts by improving the pre-genesis cloud and moisture fields. By using an ensemble-based data assimilation system, we show that the assimilation of upper-tropospheric water vapor channel BTs observed by the Meteosat-10 SEVIRI instrument two days before the formation of a tropical depression improves the genesis forecast of Hurricane Irma (2017), a classic Cape Verde storm, by up to 24 hours while also capturing its later rapid intensification in deterministic forecasts. In an experiment that withholds the assimilation of all-sky IR BTs, the assimilation of conventional observations from the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) leads to the pre-mature genesis of Hurricane Irma by at least 24 hours. This pre-mature genesis is shown to result from an overestimation of the spatial coverage of deep convection within the African Easterly Wave (AEW) from which Irma eventually forms. The gross overestimation of deep convection without all-sky IR BTs is accompanied by higher column saturation fraction, stronger low-level convergence, and the earlier spin-up of a low-level meso-β-scale vortex within the AEW that ultimately becomes Hurricane Irma. Through its adjustment to the initial moisture and cloud conditions, the assimilation of all-sky IR BTs leads to a more realistic convective evolution in forecasts and ultimately a more realistic timing of genesis.