Overview

The Industry Standard 

Moody's RMS® HWind provides a comprehensive range of observation-based data products that deliver unique capabilities to help understand, anticipate, and manage tropical cyclone risk effectively. 

HWind data products produce real-time and historical wind field analyses in the western North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific Basins, and real-time wind and storm surge forecasting products for the North Atlantic Basin. 

Developed over more than 30 years by world-leading hurricane observation researchers, this high-quality, observation-based data is the industry standard for assessing damaging characteristics of tropical cyclones during and after landfall. 

HWind products are used by (re)insurers, brokers, capital markets, academia, and government agencies for a variety of commercial and scientific purposes, such as real-time event preparation and response, triggers for parametric wind insurance, post-event hazard and loss assessment, and validation against past experience and research. 

Time-Sensitive Insights to Stay Ahead of the Storm Today and Tomorrow 

HWind consists of two primary products: 

HWind Real-Time Analysis 

• Forecasting Products: Five-day forecast track scenarios, hazard and loss-producing analytics made available regularly once an Atlantic tropical cyclone is named. As onshore regions are impacted, forecasting products include trailing track scenarios, hazard, and loss-producing analytics that are merged with the forward-looking forecast scenarios, creating a set of combined footprints (forecast and trailing). Forecasting products and trailing footprints use a proprietary methodology that combines real-time forecast track data from weather forecasting models, HWind data, and the Moody’s RMS North Atlantic Hurricane Models modeling framework 

• Snapshots: Snapshots of the storm’s wind field, instantaneous views of the tropical cyclone track and hazard characteristics, are produced every six hours throughout the storm’s life cycle. Snapshots are based on the latest observations from a variety of data sources, including aircraft reconnaissance, dropsondes, buoys, and satellites, as well as real-time model data from domestic and international weather forecasting models 

• Cumulative Footprints: Wind field footprints are produced on a rolling cumulative basis, every six hours over the lifetime of the storm, leveraging all preceding snapshot analyses 

HWind Enhanced Archive 

• Catalog of 30+ years of high-resolution wind-impact images, snapshots, and footprints from historical tropical cyclones 

• Informed by the same underlying science used for the HWind Real-Time Analysis products, as well as additional data not available during the event 

• Additional analysis iterations improve the match to observational data and create the best representation of a storm’s track and hazard profile over time 

What Is Unique About Moody's RMS HWind? 

HWind forecasting products are the only forecasting products in the market that use the Moody’s RMS North Atlantic Hurricane modeling framework, enabling the estimation of potential losses from hurricane events. Forecast track skill also meets or exceeds National Hurricane Center standards 

Snapshots and footprints are informed by the most sophisticated wind field analysis methodology on the market, developed over more than 30 years by one of the world’s leading hurricane observation researchers