URI hurricane modeling system almost complete

NARRAGANSETT – University of Rhode Island oceanographer Isaac Ginis is finishing work on a an ocean-based hurricane forecast model that uses satellite technology to help predict a storm’s path, intensity and surge.
Ginis already helped create another model used by the National Hurricane Center that is considered the most accurate hurricane prediction tool available. His new model is being developed with scientists at the NOAA Centers for Environmental Prediction.
The new model will incorporate satellite data and temperature data collected from instruments dropped from aircraft into the water at the eye of the storm, for the first time consolidating information from the air, sea and land, Ginis said in a news release.
Ginis started his work on the new model in 2006 and was awarded two grants from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to complete it for the 2008 hurricane season.