A Feed Forward Neural Network Based on Model Output Statistics for Short-Term Hurricane Intensity Prediction

A feed forward neural network (FFNN) is developed for tropical cyclone (TC) intensity prediction, where intensity is defined as the maximum 1-min average 10-m wind speed. This deep learning model incorporates a real-time operational estimate of the current intensity and predictors derived from Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF; 2017 version) Model forecasts. The FFNN model is developed with the operational constraint of being restricted to 6-h-old HWRF data. Best track intensity data are used for observational verification. The forecast training data are from 2014 to 2016 HWRF reforecast data and cover a wide variety of TCs from both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Ocean basins. Cross validation shows that the FFNN increasingly outperforms the operational observation-adjusted HWRF (HWFI) in terms of mean absolute error (MAE) at forecast lead times from 3 to 57 h. Out-of-sample testing on real-time data from 2017 shows the HWFI produces lower MAE than the FFNN at lead times of 24 h or less and similar MAEs at later lead times. On the other hand, the 2017 data indicate significant potential for the FFNN in the prediction of rapid intensification (RI), with RI defined here as an intensification of at least 30 kt (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s−1) in a 24-h period. The FFNN produces 4 times the number of hits in HWFI for RI. While the FFNN has more false alarms than the HWFI, Brier skill scores show that, in the Atlantic, the FFNN has significantly greater skill than the HWFI and probabilistic Statistical Hurricane Intensity Prediction System RI index.