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Robert J. Gutro					February 11, 2003
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Phone: 301/286-4044
Rgutro{at}pop900.gsfc.nasa.gov

Stephanie Kenitzer
American Meteorological Society
Phone: 425/432-2192
Kenitzer{at}dc.ametsoc.org

RELEASE: 03-12

NASA GOES ON-LINE WITH EXTRA-TROPICAL STORM TRACKS

If you're a weather fanatic, or if you've just ever wondered how 
stormy it was around the world on the day you were born, you can now 
find out. Scientists working with NASA have created a free on-line 
atlas that shows extra-tropical storm tracks between 1961 and 1998.

"Although the atlas was originally developed for use by climatologists 
investigating the impact of global warming on storms, the images and 
data have also been used by fisheries, foreign meteorological 
services, researchers tracking historic storms, and by teachers and 
students," said Mark Chandler, a Columbia University geologist at 
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), New York City.

The on-line "Atlas of Extra-Tropical Cyclones 1961-1998" plots storm 
paths and statistics by tracking atmospheric low-pressure centers at 
sea level. The sea level pressures are calculated using data provided 
by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the National 
Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) Reanalysis Project.

Fundamental information available about extra-tropical storm systems 
includes maps of storm frequency and intensity as well as plots of 
individual storms paths. In addition to the average intensity of 
storms over time, maps of the "most severe" storms are also 
calculated.

The global maps include individual monthly and seasonal averages for 
the years 1961 through 1998 and all frequency and intensity maps are 
available as either rectangular maps or polar projections (which 
provides a view of the tracks from both north and south poles). If a 
user chooses to download "Tracks," a grayscale image of the world is 
presented showing the tracks of all storms for the entire period 
selected. Together, the images presented in this atlas describe the 
state of the mid- and high-latitude storm tracks during much of the 
latter half of the 20th century.

In addition to images, the data is also available for download, along 
with an associated FORTRAN computer program. The program can be used 
to extract subsets of the database and places the information into 
report form. The reports identify how long a storm lasted, the 
latitude and longitude positions of storms at 12-hour intervals, the 
atmospheric pressure at the storm center (low pressure suggests a 
storm), as well as the day, month, year and time (Greenwich Mean 
Time).

Currently, NASA is working to update the Atlas to include data through 
the year 2001 as well as data for the year's 1950 through 1960. A 
CD-ROM is also available, which includes GIF images of all frequency 
and intensity maps, and higher resolution postscript images of the 
grayscale "tracks" maps. Send requests to: Dr. Mark Chandler, 
NASA/GISS-CCSR, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY 10025, email: 
mchandler{at}giss.nasa.gov.

To access the NASA/GISS storm tracks database:
http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data/stormtracks/

For more information and images, see:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2003/0211tropstorm.html

The NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Project:
  http://wesley.wwb.noaa.gov/reanalysis.html

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