Hurricane Prep Week 2023: The Tools We Use

news image
Special Stories
20 May 2023 5:00 PM

Cone and Spaghetti ... no not the food, the hurricane tools we use to communicate where a storm may go! Otherwise known as the "forecast cone of uncertainty" and "spaghetti models". Both are important tools to help determine where a storm may go and communicate uncertainty in the forecast.

Spaghetti Plots

Spaghetti models are used when the storm is an "Invest" or area of focus and could develop tropical characteristics. Each individual line in a Spaghetti model plot represents a model and where that model projects the CENTER of the storm will go. Usually we see outliers or lines that are way outside of where the cluster of models may be. Spaghetti models are useful early on in the forecasting procedure!

Cone of Uncertainty

The Forecast Cone is an official product from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and communicates where THE CENTER of the storm could go over the next 120 hours (6 days). The cone gets wider further out in time, signifying uncertainty in the track. It is so important to remember that the cone accounts for the center of the storm, and impacts can, and will be felt outside of the cone. It is also common for the cone to shift and adjust which is why you need to know your risk and prepare ahead of time.

All Weather News
More
Southern Plains Flood Risk

Southern Plains Flood Risk

Scattered thunderstorms are expected to ignit

29 May 2023 12:55 PM
Unsettled Weather Across the Plains

Unsettled Weather Across the Plains

An upper-level low has been helping to produc

29 May 2023 11:25 AM
Heating Up in the Central & Eastern U.S.

Heating Up in the Central & Eastern U.S.

Temperatures for Memorial Day weekend have be

29 May 2023 11:00 AM
Southeast to Mid-Atlantic Low Brings Beach Hazards

Southeast to Mid-Atlantic Low Brings Beach Hazards

An area that the National Hurricane Center wa

29 May 2023 12:20 AM
Active Weather Across the Western U.S.

Active Weather Across the Western U.S.

The western U.S. has been no stranger to rain

29 May 2023 12:20 AM
NOAA Releases 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook

NOAA Releases 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administ

27 May 2023 10:45 PM
Florida Thunderstorm Chances Persist through Friday

Florida Thunderstorm Chances Persist through Friday

It has been stormy week in the sunshine state

27 May 2023 1:00 AM