A NEW APPROACH TO ESTIMATE DESIGN WIND CHARACTERISTICS FOR EXTENSIVE PRESSURE SYSTEM STORMS

ESTIMATES OF DESIGN WINDSPEEDS IN THE NONHURRICANE-PRONE REGION OF THE UNITED STATES ARE DERIVED FROM HISTORICAL RECORDS OF WINDSPEEDS OBTAINED FROM SURFACE LEVEL ANEMOMETERS. THE SURFACE-LEVEL WINDSPEED MEASUREMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO ERRORS PRODUCED BY TERRAIN EFFECTS, NEARBY STRUCTURES AND VEGETATION, CHANGES IN THE HEIGHT OF THE ANEMOMETER OVER TIME, AND OBSERVATION ERRORS. THE MEASUREMENTS ARE MADE ONLY AT FIXED ANEMOMETER STATIONS AND THERE IS NO FIRST PRINCIPLE METHOD TO ESTIMATE WINDS AT OTHER LOCATIONS. THE RESEARCH INVESTIGATES AN INNOVATIVE METHOD FOR DETERMINING WINDSPEEDS AND SPATIAL VARIATION OF WINDSPEEDS FOR EXTENSIVE PRESSURE SYSTEMS (EPS) USING A FIRST PRINCIPLE DIRECT ANALYSIS APPROACH. THE METHODOLOGY MAKES USE OF THE RECENTLY AVAILABLE, AND INEXPENSIVE, DATA SET OF HISTORICAL RECORDS OF SURFACE PRESSURES FOR THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES. USING THIS DATA, THE PRESSURE FIELD CAN BE RECONSTRUCTED ON AN HOUR-BY-HOUR BASIS. USING THE RECONSTRUCTED PRESSURE FIELD, A CONTINUOUS RECORD OF WINDSPEED AND DIRECTION AT GRADIENT HEIGHT CAN BE GENERATED AT ANY ONE LOCATION OR MULTIPLE LOCATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS APPROACH ELIMINATES THE PROBLEMS WHICH PLAGUE SURFACE-LEVEL MEASUREMENTS AND PROVIDES A MEANS TO ESTIMATE AREAWIDE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE PASSING OF INTENSE, LARGE-SCALE, LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS. THE INVESTIGATION EXAMINES THE FEASIBILITY OF THE METHODOLOGY AND COMPARES THE RESULTS OBTAINED WITH THOSE OF TRADITIONAL METHODS.