TC-ATLAS

Tropical Cyclone Analysis Tool for Live and Archived Structure

A multi-source platform for exploring tropical cyclone vortex structure. TC-ATLAS brings together airborne Doppler radar, passive microwave and infrared satellite imagery, ERA5 environmental diagnostics, dropsonde profiles, and flight-level observations into one unified interactive tool.

— active TCs · Monitor refreshed — · 1,510 TC-RADAR analyses · 1997–2024

Popular starting points

See what's happening now
Live global IR satellite composite tracking every active tropical cyclone.
Step inside Irma's Cat-5 eyewall
Airborne Doppler radar · 155 kt · 2017-09-05 · full 3D wind field.
Browse 14,000+ historical storms
Every named TC since 1842 · tracks, intensity, climatology, comparison.

Integrated Data Sources

TC-ATLAS unifies observations from multiple platforms and agencies into a single interactive environment.

Airborne Doppler Radar

Post-processed NOAA P-3 tail Doppler radar analyses providing full 3D wind fields, reflectivity, and derived vortex diagnostics via the TC-RADAR database.

Passive Microwave Satellite

Multi-sensor microwave imagery from the TC-PRIMED dataset, revealing precipitation structure and convective organization.

Infrared Satellite

Geostationary IR brightness temperatures from GridSat-B1, MergIR, and real-time GOES ABI Band 13 imagery for cloud-top structure.

ERA5 Reanalysis

Monthly-mean and per-year ERA5 fields (SST, MPI, wind, moisture, MSE, PV, deep-layer shear) on a 3D globe via the TC Climatology page. Composite TC seasons by climate index, custom year/month, or per-pixel correlation.

SHIPS Diagnostics

Operational SHIPS model parameters — vertical wind shear, mid-level RH, ocean heat content, and forecast environment context — surfaced inline on each storm's detail card.

In-situ Observations

Flight-level data and GPS dropsonde profiles from NOAA reconnaissance missions via the SEB archives.

Best-Track Records

Storm tracks, intensity, and classification from IBTrACS v04 for comprehensive historical context across all ocean basins.

About TC-ATLAS

TC-ATLAS was developed by Dr. Michael Fischer at the University of Miami to enable researchers to conduct storm-to-storm comparisons and climatological analyses of tropical cyclone vortex and convective characteristics across all stages of the lifecycle. The platform is built around the TC-RADAR database, developed in collaboration with NOAA's Hurricane Research Division, and continues to expand with new data sources and capabilities.

Recent Updates

TC-ATLAS is actively maintained — new data sources, analysis tools, and UI improvements are added continuously.

Jul 15, 2026
Real-Time Monitor forecast focus: a new “Off” option on the IR/Vis/WV switch hides the satellite layer so the DeepMind ensemble and environmental overlays read unobscured. DeepMind FNV3 cyclogenesis probabilities are now labeled explicitly as the model odds of a disturbance reaching tropical-storm strength (≥34 kt), and the 1000-member raw-ensemble spaghetti renders instantly.
Jul 3, 2026
Objective eye-fix & storm favorability. The monitor snaps the storm pin to an objective IR eye center with an eye / cold-top brightness-temperature readout and a follow-storm mode. Each storm card gained a favorability dashboard — a realtime ventilation index (Tang & Emanuel) alongside ocean SST, SST anomaly, and ocean heat content (TCHP) — and the storm-detail imagery now carries frame-aligned GFS environmental overlays with init-cycle captions and hover readouts.
Jun 29, 2026
Ground radar on the map. Storm-page and global-map NEXRAD reflectivity now stream as GL tiles (IEM N0Q) at no added compute, and the TC-RADAR Explorer gained a two-panel view with the airborne Doppler field draped directly on the IR map.
Jun 28, 2026
DeepMind FNV3 ensemble tools. The 1000-member cyclogenesis ensemble gained a Structure modal (RMW, size, wind-rose, and wind-area vs. IBTrACS climatology), an Intensity-Change / RI trends panel with median LMI and intensity IQR, an ACE distribution, and Vmax ↔ MSLP toggles on every intensity chart. Members are clustered into labeled disturbances on the global map.
Jun 27, 2026
TC-ATLAS global satellite mosaic. The monitor now renders its own worldwide geostationary mosaic in IR, Visible, and Water Vapor, served from our CDN as GPU-recolored single-channel tiles — full-brightness, multiple colormaps, seamless across the dateline, with animated-GIF export.
Jun 25, 2026
New map engine & 3D convection. The Real-Time Monitor and Global Archive moved to a MapLibre GL rendering engine (smoother zoom, GPU overlays). A one-click 3D pill extrudes cold IR cloud tops into relief with Tilt/Height sliders, drag-to-orbit, and branded 3D-orbit GIF export, and the Environmental Analysis menu added SST anomaly and relative-SST layers.
Jun 13, 2026
TC-ATLAS moved to its own domain, tcatlas.org, and gained dynamic social-preview cards that render the current active-storm state when the site is shared.
May 25, 2026
Near-real-time microwave & aircraft recon. Added NRT microwave overpasses (AMSR2, GMI, SSMIS — 89 GHz PCT + 37 GHz color) with satellite pass prediction, an aircraft recon overlay (HDOB wind barbs, dropsondes, VDM), and a real-time Tail Doppler Radar tab with a live wind-center solver.
May 19, 2026
New Seasonal tab on the Real-Time Monitor — seven panels spanning a live SST-anomaly map, regional environment evolution (shear, MPI, RH, TCWV…), pre-season SST × annual ACE, OISST correlation and analog-season maps, and a climate-index dashboard (ENSO, AMO, MJO, BSISO…).
May 17, 2026
New Subseasonal tab — MJO and BSISO phase clocks plus 60-day Wheeler–Kiladis-filtered OLR Hovmöllers (MJO, Kelvin, ER, MRG, TD-type) with active TCs projected on as longitude traces and a GEFS 10-day forecast extension.
View full commit history on GitHub →

How to Cite

If you use TC-ATLAS or the underlying TC-RADAR dataset in your research, please cite the relevant publications below.

TC-RADAR Dataset

Fischer, M. S., P. D. Reasor, R. F. Rogers, and J. F. Gamache, 2022: An Analysis of Tropical Cyclone Vortex and Convective Characteristics in Relation to Storm Intensity Using a Novel Airborne Doppler Radar Database. Mon. Wea. Rev., 150, 2255–2278, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-21-0223.1.

Vortex Tilt & Precipitation Structure

Fischer, M. S., P. D. Reasor, J. P. Dunion, and R. F. Rogers, 2024: An observational analysis of the relationship between tropical cyclone vortex tilt, precipitation structure, and intensity change. Mon. Wea. Rev., 152, 203–225, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0089.1.

Anomaly-Based Vortex Diagnostics

Fischer, M. S., P. D. Reasor, J. P. Dunion, and R. F. Rogers, 2025: Are rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones associated with unique vortex and convective characteristics? Mon. Wea. Rev., 153, 183–203, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-24-0118.1.

TC-ATLAS Web Tool

TC-ATLAS: Tropical Cyclone Analysis Tool for Live and Archived Structure. Available at https://tcatlas.org/

Get in Touch

Questions about TC-ATLAS? Contact the developer.

Dr. Michael Fischer

TC-ATLAS Developer · University of Miami

[email protected]