Ocean waves boost typhoon forecasts

Chinese researchers have developed a groundbreaking tropical cyclone forecasting model that factors in ocean surface waves, significantly improving predictions of how quickly strong storms intensify.

The breakthrough, detailed in a study published recently in the journal Communications Earth &Environment, addresses one of meteorology's toughest challenges: predicting a storm's strength. While forecasters have become much better at predicting where a typhoon will travel, forecasting its intensity has remained difficult.

Conducted by a team at the First Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources in Qingdao, Shandong province, the study builds on over 20 years of research into how the ocean and the atmosphere interact.