Updates/Changes

IMPORTANT NOTICE
WIS Users - Atlantic

• July 2024: The 2023 Hindcast has been applied.
• October 2023: The 2022 Hindcast has been applied.
• March 2023: The 2021 Hindcast has been applied.
• October 2022: 2020 Hindcast has been uploaded. Most nearshore stations should have the full complement from 1980-2020.

Older updates

• 09/11/2014: The WIS Atlantic Hindcast web access has been returned to service. The recent problems (08/18/2014) in the WIS Atlantic Hindcast oneline file and all products have been rectified. Version control has been tagged to the oneline file and product files and is now indicated by *_V3.
• 08/18/2014: One user of the updated WIS Hindcast (*_V2) downloadable oneline files found duplicated estimates in the December 1984 hourly records. We have disabled access to this part of the hindcast archive until the problem has been rectified. The duplicated hourly information has contaminated the graphical and tabulated products as well.
  
  It is anticipated the corrections to the oneline file and product generation will be completed in approximately two weeks (1 September 2014). WIS will then announce the return (and enabling access) of the corrected Atlantic Hindcast archive.
• 05/29/2014: The Wave Information Study has updated the entire Atlantic Basin Hindcast. This hindcast consists of hourly wave estimates from 1980 through 2012 period of record. Version control (STNNNNN_v02, where N: Station Identification Number) has been used for all downloadable files as well as the re-generation of all products.
  
  The wind fields used in the hindcast were developed by Oceanweather, Inc. as in the case of all previous WIS hindcast efforts. These winds were based on the original NCEP/NCAR Re-analysis 1, and the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC- 50, Cox and Swail, 2001; Swail et al., 2006). Wind fields were modified using QuikSCAT adjustments and re-analyzed (human intervention) with the Interactive Objective Kinematic Analysis System (IOKA, Cox et al., 1995) and the Wind Workstation (Cox and Cardone, 2002). All existing tropical storm systems residing in the WIS grid systems were embedded in the background winds.
  
  The wave estimates were derived from WaveWatch III (Tolman 1997, 1999, 2009). The latest version (Version 4.18, Tolman 2014 ) is used for all simulations. It incorporates all of the newest advancements made under the National Ocean Partnership Program (Tolman 2007). The WIS grid systems used in this update were identical to that in the previous hindcast effort. There were slight modifications of the save location positions in the Level 3 North, Central, South1 and South2 domains.
• 11/08/2013: One user found an error in the Wave Information Study "oneline" files for the posted Gulf of Mexico Hindcast. All levels, all stations contained an error in the vector mean wind-sea wave direction (Column 24). The error can be corrected by the following:
  
  WAVD0CORRECTED = 270 - WAVDOORIGINAL
  
  To retain the 0 - 360-deg range you will have to check for negative values. If found add 360 to that number. All products posted on the WIS Web site are based on the full directional spectral estimates and are correct.
• 10/18/2012: The original Wave Information Study save locations surrounding Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands was subject to errors. Based on this analysis the information was removed from the web site. Re-analysis of the directional wave spectra corrected a majority of these errors. However it was found, the time series ("oneline files) contained data gaps (see below). Recently there have been many requests to re-post the Wave Information Study Level 1 save locations surrounding Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The downloadable files and all products were generated and are now available. However, one must understand gaps do exist (loss of output files) affecting any analyses. These gaps include:
  • Entire record for 1980
  • 1984: February through December
  • 1986: February through December
  Note: The Wave Information Study is in the process of updating the entire Atlantic Ocean hindcast, extending it through 2010. This work is scheduled for completion in early 2013. At that time the entire data set (including products) will be replaced.
• 08/09/2012: The Wave Information Study completed reprocessing of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Hindcast products and revised the downloadable oneline files which contain the time series of wind and integral wave parameters at a 3-hr interval (version v01). Two errors were uncovered. Also, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands had some contaminated data and we could not generate new files for these locations.
• 03/01/2012 - 08/07/2012: Reprocessing the oneline files for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico WIS Hindcast from directional spectra introduced a shift in all three wave directions (total, wind-sea and swell). This error was found to be 11.25 degrees. All directions were corrected by adding 11.25 degrees to the original wave directions. All wave direction products contain this error.
• 11/15/2011 - 03/01/2012: The parabolic fit wave period were in error for the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico WIS Hindcast, and rectified. However, to re-compute these values, the directional spectra were used. This reduced the oneline temporal output from a 1-hour interval to 3-hour interval. In addition to this, it was later determined (see above) the calculations introduced an 11.25 degree error in the three wave direction estimates. All products dependent on the parabolic fit wave period, and the wave direction contain this error.
  Any WIS output file or product prior to 11/15/2011 (hourly interval) will contain the parabolic fit wave period error.

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