Overview

GLOSSARY/DATA LAYERS AND FIELDS

• Track Points - These points indicate the locations of a storm over time. They are generated by forecast agencies and numerical model guidance.
• Track Line - This is the line formed by connecting all the track points. It depicts a continuous path for the storm by interpolating between any two track points.
• ATCF ID - Unique ID associated with a tropical cyclone, defined using the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting (ATCF) system. The format is usually a two-letter abbreviation of the ocean basin (see "Storm Basin" below for list) in which the storm can be found, the annual cyclone number starting from 1 for the first storm in each basin per year, and the 4-digit year. For example, AL112017 (Hurricane Irma) refers to AL (Atlantic basin), 11th storm of the year in that basin, in the year 2017.
• Storm Name - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) tropical cyclone name, such as Irma, Katrina, and Rai.
• Storm Basin - Ocean basin in which the storm is taking place. These include AL (North Atlantic), WP (Western North Pacific), CP (Central North Pacific), EP (Eastern North Pacific), IO (North Indian Ocean), SH (South-West Indian Ocean, Australian region, and South Pacific Ocean), and LS (Southern Atlantic).
• Storm Age - Number of days the storm has been active at time of forecast
• Category Description - How the selected layer would be categorized against similar data. For example, data in a wind layer may be categorized into groups of 5 mph each, such as 100-105 mph for one group and 105-110 mph for another group. In such a case, the category description field displays which grouping the selected location belongs to. This is a variable/field separate from the name of each map layer.
• Latitude & Longitude - Geographic indicators of a storm's past, current, or forecast location derived from dividing the Earth into grids measured in degrees.
• Wind Speed - Maximum wind speed of the storm at that location. The units are knots for track points and track line layers and miles per hour (mph) for the wind speed hazard layer. These represent terrain-adjusted, 2-minute sustained winds at 10-meter elevation and are consistent with wind speeds reported by Automated Surface Observing Stations (ASOS weather stations). They can differ from wind speed forecast by different agencies because, in contrast with winds forecast by agencies such as the NHC, Kinetic Analysis-generated winds account for the effects of surface roughness and topography. In addition, different agencies can report winds based on different averaging times. For example, the NHC and JTWC report 1-minute sustained winds while the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard is 10-minute sustained winds.
• Minimum Sea Level Pressure - The lowest sea level pressure at that storm location. Measured in millibars.
  
• Radius of Max Winds - The distance between the storm's center, where the central pressure is lowest, and the maximum winds of a storm. Measured in nautical miles. 
• Forward Speed - How fast a storm is moving at the selected location. Measured in meters per second (m/s).
• Storm Direction - The direction toward which a storm is moving at the selected location. Measured with a 360-degree system where North is represented by 0 degrees and East by 90 degrees.
• Forecast Time - Time at which an agency (such as OFCL) released its newest update of storm track data. This is the set of data used to simulate the model results displayed. 
  
• Simulation Time - Time at which Kinetic Analysis's models processed the current data.
• Model in Simulation - The forecast agency, or model that generated the inputs for the Kinetic Analysis-simulated storm hazard data.