An Operational Statistical Scheme for Tropical Cyclone Induced Wind Gust Forecasts

This study provides a quantitative forecast method for predicting the potential maximum wind gust at certain automatic weather stations (AWSs) in South China through the investigation of the relationship between the wind gusts observed at the stations and tropical cyclones’ (TCs) main characteristics: TC intensity, TC distance to the station, TC azimuth relative to the station, and TC size. Historical TC data from 1968 to June 2014 within a distance of 700 km to several AWSs in South China are analyzed. The wind gust data available for the same period taken from six coastal AWSs: Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT), Mawan Port (MWP), and Shekou Ferry Terminal (SFT) in Shenzhen, and Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Cheung Chau Island (CCH), and Waglan Island (WGL) in Hong Kong, are used to build the statistical relationship. The probability of gust gale occurrence (wind gust ≥ 17 m s−1) at these six stations is also computed. Results show that the wind induced by offshore TCs is strongly affected by the surrounding terrain conditions of the stations. Coastal stations open to the wind direction suffer a greater wind influence than do stations with obstructions located in the wind direction. When TCs are approaching the coast in South China, the most dangerous area is the northeast quadrant of TCs. In this quadrant, typhoons might incur gust gales at coastal stations in South China even at a distance of more than 400 km from the stations.