Hugh Willoughby
Distinguished Research Professor
PhD, University of Miami, 1977
MS, Naval Postgraduate School, 1969
BS (Distinction), University of Arizona, 1967
Office: PC 327B
Phone: 305-348-0243
E-mail: hugh.willoughby@fiu.edu

Hurricane Dynamics and Impacts

Research Interests

Hurricane Dynamics: For most of my career. I’ve been interested in the dynamics of hurricane motion, structural evolution and intensity change. The main tools that I use are simple theoretical models and analysis of observations---generally radar and in-situ data from instrumented aircraft. I’ve made more than 400 research and reconnaissance flights into the eyes hurricanes and typhoons.

Hurricane Impacts: During the last few years I’ve also become interested in tropical cyclones’ human and economic impacts. I’m in the late stages of an analysis of statistical distributions and trends in hurricane caused damage and mortality. I’m also interested in temporal and geographical changes in the climatology of hurricane landfalls.

Grid Enabled Hurricane Modeling: I am working with colleagues in FIU’s School of Computing and Information Sciences and at IBM to develop a framework for massively parallel ensemble simulations of hurricanes using the advanced Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model.

Teaching

In the fall of 2006 we inaugurated an Atmospheric Sciences Track within FIU's Department of Earth Sciences. As part of the new curriculum, this year I’ve taught MET 3003, General Meteorology, MET 4990, Severe Weather, and MET 4992, Hurricanes. The latter course treats human and engineering aspects of hurricanes as well as their meteorology.

Next fall (2007), I plan to teach MET 4502, Synoptic Meteorology with its laboratory, and in the spring I will teach MET 4400, Instruments and Remote Sensing . These courses, along with the Dynamics and Physical Meteorology classes taught by my colleague, Professor Zhu, round out the Atmospheric Sciences Curriculum so that FIU can expect to graduate its first Meteorologist by the spring of 2008.

Recent publications:
Willoughby, H.E., R.W.R. Darling and M.E. Rahn, 2006: Parametric representation of the primary hurricane vortex. Part II: A new family of sectionally continuous profiles. Mon. Wea. Rev., 134, 1102-1120.

Carsey, T.P., and H.E. Willoughby, 2005: Ozone measurements from eye wall transects of two Atlantic tropical cyclones. Mon. Wea. Rev., 133, 166-174.

Willoughby, H.E., and M.E. Rahn, 2004: Parametric representation of the primary hurricane vortex. Part I: Observations and evaluation of the Holland (1980) model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 132, 3033-3048.

Rogers, R, S. Chen, J. Tenerelli, and H. E. Willoughby, 2003: A numerical study of vertical shear on the distribution of rainfall in Hurricane Bonnie (1998). Mon. Wea. Rev., 131, 1577-1599.

Gedzelman, S., J. Lawrence, J. Gamache, M. Black, E. Hindeman, R. Black, J. Dunion, H. Willoughby, X, Zhang, 2003: Probing hurricanes with stable isotopes of rain and water vapor. Mon. Wea. Rev., 131, 1112-1127.

Willoughby, H.E., 2002: Chapter 10: Improvements in observations, models and forecasts, in HURRICANE! Coping with Disaster, edited by R.H. Simpson, American Geophysical Union, 205-216.

Black, M.L., J.F. Gamache, F.D. Marks, C.E. Samsury, and H.E. Willoughby, 2002: Eastern-Pacific Hurricanes Jimena of 1991 and Olivia of 1994:The effects of vertical shear on structure and intensity. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 2291-2312.

Willoughby, H.E. and R.W. Jones, 2001: Nonlinear motion of a barotropic vortex in still air and in an environmental zonal flow. J. Atmos. Sci., 58, 1907-1923.

Other selected publications:
Willoughby, H.E., 1998: Tropical cyclone eye thermodynamics. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 3053-3067.

Willoughby, H.E., 1994: Nonlinear motion of a shallow-water barotropic vortex. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 3722-3744.

Willoughby, H.E., 1990: Temporal changes of the primary circulation in tropical cyclones. J. Atmos. Sci., 47, 242-264.

Willoughby, H.E., J.M. Masters, and C.W. Landsea, 1989: A record minimum sea level pressure observed in hurricane Gilbert. Mon. Wea. Rev., 117, 2824-2828.

Willoughby, H.E., D.P. Jorgensen, R.A. Black, and S.L. Rosenthal, 1985: Project STORMFURY: A scientific chronicle 1962-1983. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 66, 505-514.

Willoughby, H.E., J.A. Clos, and M. B. Shoreibah, 1982: Concentric eyewalls, secondary wind maxima, and the development of the hurricane vortex. J. Atmos. Sci., 39, 395-411.

FIU On-Line Cloud Atlas

One-page biographical sketch

17 JAN 2007