Summary global data by year

[G Pounder]

Hello, 

 

I am a non-scientist doing eternal battle with climate change deniers online. I am a newbie, so forgive my ignorance.  

My nemesis has referred me to NOAA's 2022 Tropical Cyclones Report.  

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/tropical-cyclones/202213 

 

Where can I find the summary data for the graphs in this report? 

"The data in this report are derived from NCEI's IBTrACS dataset." 

 

The global data file for the IBTrACS database is enormous (CSV 305 M) and while it provides far more data than I require, I am not sure it will give me the summary information I am after.  

Namely, the annual storm counts (in the four categories: Named Storms; Hurricanes; Major Hurricanes) and ACE Index data, year by year. 

 

Does such a data summary for the public exist somewhere? 

If not, how can I derive it from the IBTrACS dataset? 

 

I am looking for data in this simplified format: 

Year	Named Storms	Hurricanes	Major Hurricanes	ACE
1851	6	3	1	36
1852	5	5	1	73
1853	8	4	2	76

 

I found the above data here: 

Comparison of Original and Revised HURDAT
https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/comparison_table.html 

 

Is there anything similar for global values? 

I do not need a basin-by-basin breakdown, though that would not hurt. 

 

Do I understand correctly that "Named Storms" is the grand total, and includes Hurricanes and Major Hurricanes? And that "Hurricanes" includes Major Hurricanes? 

 

Thx in advance. 

[Carl Schreck - NOAA Affiliate]

Thanks for your email. I'm actually the one that authors that report. Even with the IBTrACS data, it is not a simple task to create those global numbers. We have to deal with storms that overlap between basins and years. And some storms are tracked by multiple agencies. I could provide the data manually or you can get a similar version from Phil Klotzbach's great website at CSU:

http://tropical.atmos.colostate.edu/Realtime/index.php?arch&loc=global

The global data are increasingly unreliable before 1980, which is why Phil's data start then instead of the beginning of IBTrACS (1851).

Carl

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North Carolina State University

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[G Pounder]

OK, thanks very much. I shall use the CSU figures.

I appreciate that the overlap between basins and years makes it complicated to report summary statistics.

If the same storm persists over two calendar years (e.g., Dec 2022 thru Jan 2023), is it reported in the global totals just once (e.g., for the year in which it starts)?

I just assumed that the Summary graphs "b) Storm Counts" and "c) ACE" are generated from actual numeric data -- the result of summary calculations IBTrACS performs on the comprehensive dataset. I hoped those summary global data could be made available, so that one could, for example, calculate averages and slopes (trends), etc., over time intervals on a spreadsheet.

Do I understand correctly that "Named Storms" is the grand total, and includes Hurricanes and Major Hurricanes? And that "Hurricanes" includes Major Hurricanes?

I.e., "Named Storms" = non-hurricanes + Hurricanes + Major Hurricanes.

"Hurricanes" = Hurricanes + Major Hurricanes.

Thx, again.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey Pounder

---

From: Carl Schreck - NOAA Affiliate <carl.s...@noaa.gov>
Sent: January 17, 2023 8:27 AM
To: G Pounder <t3c_...@hotmail.com>
Cc: ibtra...@googlegroups.com <ibtra...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [ibtracs-qa] Summary global data by year

 

[Carl Schreck - NOAA Affiliate]

I appreciate that the overlap between basins and years makes it complicated to report summary statistics.

If the same storm persists over two calendar years (e.g., Dec 2022 thru Jan 2023), is it reported in the global totals just once (e.g., for the year in which it starts)?

For my numbers, it gets counted in both years. However, Klotzbach and most others only count it in the year (and usually the basin) in which it formed. However, another wrinkle is that the web State of the Climate uses the calendar year (Jan 1-Dec 31). The BAMS State of the Climate counts the storms separately for the Northern Hemisphere year (Jan-Dec) and the Southern Hemisphere year (Jul 1-Jun 30) and then adds them together.

 

I just assumed that the Summary graphs "b) Storm Counts" and "c) ACE" are generated from actual numeric data -- the result of summary calculations IBTrACS performs on the comprehensive dataset. I hoped those summary global data could be made available, so that one could, for example, calculate averages and slopes (trends), etc., over time intervals on a spreadsheet.

This is a good idea. I'll talk with the IBTrACS team here about making it public through a website similar to CSU's. In the meantime, I've attached the global data here. I'm happy to share other basins as well. The columns are the number of Cat-5 (count_137), major (count_96), hurricane (count_64), named storm (count_35), and ACE.

 

Do I understand correctly that "Named Storms" is the grand total, and includes Hurricanes and Major Hurricanes? And that "Hurricanes" includes Major Hurricanes?

I.e., "Named Storms" = non-hurricanes + Hurricanes + Major Hurricanes.

"Hurricanes" = Hurricanes + Major Hurricanes.

That is correct.