KCC scientists employ a physics-based approach to simulate the characteristics of most weather-related perils to capture unique behavior not produced by statistically-generated event sets.
KCC's advanced modeling system automatically downloads and processes 30GB of high-resolution meteorological data each day from global sources. This data is used to produce daily intensity footprints for severe convective storms (SCS), which form nearly every day in the US, as well as intensity footprints and event summaries for extratropical cyclones and winter storms as they occur.
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KCC scientists extract reflectivity data from an extensive radar network to detect the intensities, structures, and most likely locations of hailstorms. The returned radio signals construct a high-resolution picture of a storm system with data that is updated approximately every five minutes. For the duration of an event, the maximum return strength values for each location become the hail intensity footprint.
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KCC scientists thoroughly analyze the ongoing artic cold front climatology via the most advanced global climate models. By utilizing mathematical numerical prediction (NWP) models to represent atmospheric processes, KCC scientists generate realistic storm scenarios that capture the variability and environments conductive to artic air outbreaks. This ensures that the full effects of arctic cold fronts, which can generate snow, ice, wind, and freezing temperatures, are accurately represented.
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Europe’s extratropical cyclones (ETCs) have highly complex life cycles. Smaller wind gusts, as opposed to the more readily-measurable maximum sustained wind speeds, are responsible for the majority of damage. To accurately model the intricacies, KCC scientists utilize high-resolution NWP data to capture atmospheric oscillations and to explicitly simulate ETC wind gust speeds, temperature, humidity, surface interaction, and precipitation.
Learn moreKCC is committed to utilizing the most innovative catastrophe modeling techniques to produce accurate intensity footprints that include the impact from climate change. Ongoing climate variables affect the atmospheric variables conducive to SCS, arctic cold front, and ETC formation, as well as the realistic ignition and spread patterns of wildfires. Physics-based modeling, utilizing high-resolution atmospheric data, produces more realistic and reliable event sets by capturing the actual physics of phenomena, and this includes the impact from climate change.
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