Official HURREVAC program support site maintained by Sea Island Software, Inc., with funding from FEMA, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and NOAA

January updates: right-click changes, archived error cone display

Here’s a summary of improvements made by the HURREVAC development team during late 2023 and early 2024.

New way to manage simulated storms

Managing your list of simulated storms in the Storms tab no longer requires a right-click. To add a simulated storm, left-click the three dot menu icon to the right of the folder heading.

The options to remove, share, and edit a particular simulated storm can be accessed with a left-click on the three dot menu icon next to that storm’s name.

Screen capture of simulated storm list in the Storms tab. Three dot icon opens the menu to Add a shared simulation by Storm ID

Get a county-based report by right-clicking

A county-based Wind Timing Report for a Location can now be generated from a right-click. The context menu contains a direct link to create a report based on the boundaries of the county (or U.S. county equivalent) in which the click was made. This link is located below the option to generate a report for the specific coordinates that were clicked. The image below shows an example for Suffolk County, NY.

Previously, the only way to generate a county-based report was by clicking on the name of a locality listed in the multi-location wind timing reports. That method is still available.

Screen capture of the context menu over the tracking map. Create wind timing report is highlighted. The two submenu options are For Selected Point and For Locality (Suffolk County, NY in this example)

Error cone size for archived storms

The Potential Track Area (Error Cone) now shows historically accurate dimensions for archived storms. Previously, the cones for all storms in the program were plotted using the annually-updated definitions for the current season. Average track errors have diminished over time, so cones for current storms are smaller than they were in past decades.

When working with an archived storm, HURREVAC now applies the error statistics from its year of occurrence to show the cone as it would have appeared in graphical products issued at the time. The program also factors in how those cone definitions vary by ocean basin and issuing agency.

HURREVAC will continue to plot cones for exercise storms and simulated storms with the current (2023) definitions, regardless of when the storm was created or the date of the scenario. Product changes for the 2024 season, including any changes to error cone dimensions, are expected to be implemented later this spring.

Two side-by-side maps of the United States Gulf Coast. At left is the error cone for Gustav in 2008 at advisory 12. Gustav was forecast to be south of New Orleans at day five, and the cone extended from Houston, Texas to the Big Bend region of Florida. At right is the cone for Advisory 9 of Laura in 2020. Laura was projected to be at a similar location south of New Orleans, but the error cone was smaller and extended roughly from Port Arthur, Texas to Pensacola, Florida.
Comparison of five-day error cone dimensions for hurricanes Gustav in 2008 (left) and Laura in 2020 (right) using advisories when they were both forecast to be at a location near the mouth of the Mississippi River.


Learn more about these tools in the HURREVAC User Guide (login required).

  • Posted by John Boyer
  • On January 18, 2024