Tracking tropical weather used to be reserved for trained meteorologists who provided the latest weather forecasts on television. But thanks to technology, we do not have to wait anymore. The best sites to track tropical weather provide up to date information, maps, forecasts, satellite imagery, computer models, commentaries and reviews. If you want to stay updated when the Atlantic Hurricane Season is in full swing, these tropical storm websites will be extremely useful.
National Hurricane Center
About the National Hurricane Centre: The aim of the National Hurricane Center is to keep people, property and communities safe from tropical weather threats. It is part of the National Centers for Environment Prediction (NCEP) and consists of several units. These are the Hurricane Specialist Unit (HSU); the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB); the Technology & Science Branch (TSB); the Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance Coordination, All Hurricanes (CARCAH) unit; and the Hurricane Liaison Team (HLT).
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Track the Tropics
About Track the Tropics: Track The Topics is a one stop tropical weather information website that provides links to the best sites to track tropical weather. The aim of the site is to host all of these links in one place to make it easier to find weather data during the Atlantic Hurricane Season. Main features on the site are Tropical Atlantic Weather Resources; messages about current storms; tropical weather outlooks; tropical cyclone formation probabilities; surface analysis maps; forecasts; data; maps and the latest hurricane season news.
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The National Weather Service
About the National Weather Service: The National Weather Service is an organisation that provides “weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings”. It is responsible for coordinating initiatives related to weather and forecasting and ensures that the public and the US government receive effective information. The headquarters is located in Silver Spring, MD and there are six regional headquarters. The work of the National Weather Service is a continuous process that uses technological innovation and research to protect lives and property.
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Tropical Storm Risk
About Tropical Storm Risk: Tropical Storm Risk is the result of an initiative project supported by the United Kingdom government. The project, which ran from October 1998 to June 2000, focused on seasonal tropical cyclone prediction. Since its development, Tropical Storm Risk has engaged in in valuable scientific research and technology to help users make better decisions about tropical weather. This help includes forecasts for insurance purposes; storm trackers and forecast wind probabilities and wind fields; and storm trackers for the various regions of the world.
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Tropical Tidbits
About Tropical Tidbits: Tropical Tidbits is the brainchild of Dr. Levi Cowan, a researcher in the field of tropical meteorology. He holds a Ph.d in Meteorology and has been tracking tropical storms since 2002. Tropical Tidbits tracks storms and hurricanes and offers some analysis of what to expect from formed systems. The site also highlights key statistics about current storms; provides data collected by aircraft reconnaissance aircraft; satellite imagery for various geographic locations; forecast models and analysis tools.
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Cyclostorm
About Cyclostorm: Cyclostorm is a long-standing tropical weather site that provides access to reputable internet-based resources. The site is a useful aggregator which pulls in information from government agencies who provide up to date content on tropical cyclones; issue hurricane bulletins. The site also offers insights into satellite and radar imagery. For each of the main tropical weather locations, which includes the Atlantic, there are advisories; wind analysis, radar imagery; models and satellite imagery and animations.
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Storm Carib
About Storm Carib: Storm Carib is Caribbean focused website that depends on local hurricane correspondents who live in the Caribbean. Hurricane correspondents provide live accounts of the events before, during and after a tropical storm. Storm Carib has a few handy tools which are very valuable during the hurricane season. The Distance Calculator can tell you how far away the storm is (in hours) and even when you may start feeling impacts. There is also a page dedicated to the latest advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center.
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Hurricane City
About Hurricane City: Hurricane City was created by Jim Williams in 1997 on the GeoCities platform. Now, along with Chris Hollis (of Tropical Atlantic ) he has created an award-winning hurricane tracking resource. Hurricane City is aptly named because at the beginning of hurricane season, predictions are made about the cities and islands that are high risk for a tropical storm or hurricane. This predication is based on a simple mathematical formula that has proven to be extremely useful. One of the most startling predictions was in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina.
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Other Sites to Track Tropical Weather
Here are a few other helpful sites to track tropical weather:
- Mike’s Weather Page: Tropical Weather Updates
- Tropical Atlantic: A Division of Hollis Innovations LLC
- Hurricane Dot Com: Tracking the Tropics
- Storm Pulse: Advanced Storm-Tracking
- Weather Models: Professional Weather Tools for You
- CyclonicWx: Today’s Tropics