North Atlantic synthetic tropical cyclone track, intensity, and rainfall dataset from RAFT

The Risk Analysis Framework for Tropical Cyclones (RAFT)'s comprehensive and unified simulation of 40,000 synthetic North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) events are presented in this dataset. RAFT meticulously models these events based on large-scale environmental conditions, providing a valuable tool for in-depth TC impact analysis. The dataset encompasses detailed 6-hourly track information, along-track intensity metrics (including maximum wind speed and minimum pressure), the radius of maximum winds, and cumulative precipitation for each event.

The primary dataset is encapsulated in a NetCDF4 file, "RAFT.NA.v20231016.nc", which contains a complete array of variables pertinent to the 40,000 synthetic TCs. These variables, detailed in Table 1 of the accompanying paper and summarized below, offer a comprehensive view of each TC event:

• Basin ID: Identifies the basin (1 for North Atlantic)
• Storm ID: Unique identification number for each TC, starting from 0
• Year: Year of the environmental conditions used for modeling
• Jday: Julian day of the year, ranging from 0 to 365
• Longitude (lon): Geographical longitude in degrees
• Latitude (lat): Geographical latitude in degrees
• Maximum Wind Speed (vmax): Measured in knots
• Minimum Pressure (mslp): Measured in hectopascals (hPa)
• Radius of Maximum Wind (rmax): Measured in nautical miles (nmi)

Additionally, the dataset offers individualized accumulated rainfall data for each TC event, stored in NetCDF4 files named according to the convention "modeled_rainfall_ERA5_syn_{i}.h5", where "{i}" is the synthetic storm's ID. "ERA5" signifies the reanalysis input source, and "syn" indicates a synthetic track. This component of the dataset includes the following variables, all measured in total millimeters of precipitation:

• Total Accumulated Rainfall (p_accum)
• Frictional Precipitation Component (p_accum_f)
• Topographic Precipitation Component (p_accum_h)
• Shear-related Precipitation Component (p_accum_s)
• Vortex Stretching Precipitation Component (p_accum_t)

The rainfall dataset is curated to focus on TC events within 600 km of the U.S. coast, reducing the number of rainfall events to 17,010 from the original 40,000, thereby enhancing its relevance and manageability. For user convenience, these events are compressed into grouped archives named "RAFT_accum_rainfall_{index}.tar.gz", where each "{index}" represents the index of the zipfile, containing up to 2,000 files for efficient data retrieval.

The accumulated rainfall data is provided on a regular spatial grid, detailed in "RAFT_rainfall_latlon_grid.h5", which outlines the grid coordinates ('lat' and 'lon').

For comprehensive usage guidelines and further insights into this dataset, users are encouraged to refer to the associated paper. This dataset is not only a significant resource for researchers and analysts in the field of meteorology but also serves as a pivotal tool for understanding and predicting the impacts of tropical cyclones.

How to cite:

Xu, W., Balaguru, K., Judi, D.R. et al. A North Atlantic synthetic tropical cyclone track, intensity, and rainfall dataset. Sci Data 11, 130 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-02952-7