The operational impact of QuikSCAT winds at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Prediction Center

The primary responsibility of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration´s (NOAA) Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) is to issue marine warnings and forecasts of winds and seas for the high seas and offshore waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This covers vast open ocean areas from the subtropics to the near arctic. Accurate and timely surface data are necessary to make these warning decisions. Although conventional observations from buoys and ships of opportunity are very useful to marine forecasters, their distribution is sparse, often being limited to trade routes or continental waters. Over the past twelve years, forecasters have come to rely more and more on remotely sensed data. Special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) winds have been used to help fill in the gaps between conventional observations. However the SSM/I retrievals are not available in areas of liquid cloud and precipitation and are restricted to the lowest wind warning category (GALE). Wind retrievals from various scatterometers flown onboard satellites have been available to OPC forecasters over the last ten years and were used with some success. QuikSCAT winds are now fully integrated into OPC operations and have proven to be invaluable. The wide swath width and all weather capabilities have enabled OPC forecasters to use these winds routinely to determine the extent and magnitude of strong winds, the location of fronts and pressure systems, and wind gradients associated with oceanographic thermal features. Since the inclusion of QuikSCAT into OPC operations the marine forecaster´s ability to accurately assess wind conditions over the open oceans has never been better