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'Cone of uncertainty' reduced due to hurricane research advances

9 years 3 months 2 weeks ago Wednesday, August 26 2015 Aug 26, 2015 August 26, 2015 11:10 AM August 26, 2015 in News
Source: NOAA / WBRZ
By: Brock Sues

MIAMI - 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the "cone of uncertainty" associated with storm path forecasting would be greatly reduced thanks to improved technology.

The "cone", the probable area where forecasters expect the eye of a tropical cyclone to strike, is an iconic image of the associated with the disastrous 2005 storm, but due to forecasting breakthroughs more people would likely be aware of the dire situation presented with the reduction in uncertainty.

Since the 2005 hurricane season, NOAA has launched five new satellites, added new coastal observation systems and made other breakthroughs in oceanic and atmospheric research. This has led to what NOAA says is a 40 percent reduction in the margin of error associated with trying to pin down a hurricane's expected track.

To learn more about how far hurricane modeling and prediction has come in the past decade, visit NOAA's website for more info.

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