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Forecast Products

The table below lists the main hurricane forecast products issued by the National Hurricane Center and the local National Weather Service Forecast Office. Click any of the products listed in the table to go to an explanation and example of that product.

In general, the NHC provides products that have a broad view of the hurricane and its potential impacts, while the local forecast office (the WFO) takes the information from NHC and tailors it to their specific locale, providing the public and local emergency managers with additional information about the hazards expected in their area.

4-times Daily TROPICAL WEATHER PRODUCT
TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK

Tropical Weather OUTLOOK is intended for the general public and describes the state of the tropics. It includes a discussion of areas of disturbed weather and their potential for development over the next 48 hours.
• Issued 4 times daily from June 1st to Nov. 30th by the NHC.
6-hour Forecast Suite of TROPICAL CYCLONE PRODUCTS
 PUBLIC ADVISORIES 

Tropical cyclone PUBLIC ADVISORIES are intended for the general public and describe the storm and its expected hazards. They are also used to issue watches & warnings.
• Issued every 6 hours or as needed by the NHC

Tropical cyclone INTERMEDIATE PUBLIC ADVISORIES
• Issued every 3 hours by the NHC when a watch or warning is in effect.
• Issued every 2 hours by the NHC when a watch or warning is in effect and land-based radars have identified a reliable storm center.

 FORECAST/ADVISORIES

Tropical cyclone FORECAST/ADVISORIES provide forecasts of the wind fields around the storm (formerly known as the Marine Advisory).
• Issued every 6 hours or as needed by the NHC

DISCUSSIONS 

Tropical cyclone DISCUSSIONS are meant primarily for other forecasters, but are useful because they provide insight into the forecaster's reasoning and confidence.
• Issued every 6 hours or as needed by the NHC

 WIND SPEED PROBABILITY FORECASTS

Tropical cyclone TEXT WIND SPEED PROBABILITY FORECASTS and GRAPHICAL WIND SPEED PROBABILITY FORECASTS provide probabilities of surface wind speeds of at least 34 kt (39 mph, tropical storm force), 50 kt (58 mph), and 64 kt (74 mph, hurricane force) at several locations along the coastlines of the United States and other countries in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins.
• Issued every 6 hours or as needed by the NHC

As Needed TROPICAL CYCLONE PRODUCTS
HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENTS

HURRICANE LOCAL STATEMENTS describe expected local impacts.
• Issued by your local NWS forecast office (menu is located at bottom of page). The statements are issued when conditions are warranted, and they will also be available from the NHC.
INLAND WATCHES & WARNINGS

Inland Watches & Warnings provide information about tropical storm or hurricane-force winds at inland locations. These are of particular interest to those that are vulnerable to High Winds.
• Issued as needed by your local NWS forecast office (see menu at bottom of page).

HPC PUBLIC ADVISORIES

HPC PUBLIC ADVISORIES provide information about the tropical system once it has made landfall and the National Hurricane Center has passed responsibility to the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC). The storms are referred to by the intensity they had when the HPC took responsibility. The public advisories include information about expected rainfall which is particularly important those that are vulnerable to inland flooding.
• Issued 4 times daily by the HPC when conditions are warranted.

TROPICAL CYCLONE UPDATES

Tropical Cyclone Updates are brief statements issued by the NHC in lieu of or preceding special advisories to report significant changes in a tropical cyclone.
• Issued as needed by the NHC.

SPECIAL TROPICAL DISTURBANCE STATEMENTS

Special Tropical Disturbance Statements reference the potential for torrential rains and give information about strong formative and nondepression systems.
• Issued as needed by the NHC.

POSITION ESTIMATES

Tropical Cyclone Position Estimates.  Issued between 2-hour intermediate Public Advisories when a reliable center is displayed on land-based radar. Normally, this is the case when a storm center is within 200 nautical miles of U.S. land-based radar and sufficient and regular radar reports are available to the NHC.
• Issued as needed by the NHC.
*Information adapted from http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml