Storm tracks data           package:rggobi           R Documentation

_S_t_o_r_m _t_r_a_c_k_s _i_n _t_h_e _C_a_r_i_b_b_e_a_n

_D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n:

     The data consist of tropical cyclone tracks through the Atlantic
     Ocean,  Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico from 1995 to 2005. Only
     ``named'' storms, those which reached tropical storm status or
     stronger, are included. 

     The data originated from the National Hurricane Center's archive
     of Tropical  Cyclone Reports ( <URL:
     http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastall.shtml>). From the NHC, the 
     reports "contain comprehensive information on each tropical
     cyclone, including synoptic history, meteorological statistics,
     casualties and damages, and the post-analysis best track
     (six-hourly positions and intensities)."

     This dataset is taken from the post-analysis best track
     information, which are  presented in tabular form in the Tropical
     Cyclone Reports and came in a variety of electronic formats (PDF,
     HTML and Microsoft Word documents). The best track  tables were
     then copied to text files and parsed into the comma-separated 
     format in which they currently reside.

     The variables are as follows:

     \begin{itemize} 

     *  Name: Storm Name

     *  Year: Year of report

     *  Month: Month of report 

     *  Day: Day of report (day of the month)

     *  Hour: Hour of report (0, 6, 12 or 18 in UTC time)

     *  Latitude: Latitude of the storm's center (degrees North)

     *  Longitude: Longitude of the storm's center (degrees West)

     *  Pressure: Air pressure at the storm's center (millibars)

     *  Wind: Storm's maximum sustained wind speed (knots or nautical
        miles per hour)

     *  Type: Storm classification (Tropical Depression, Tropical
        Storm, Hurricane,

     *  Extratropical)

     *  SeasDay: Day of the hurricane season (days since June 1)

        \end{itemize}

        The Tropical Cyclone Reports had a variety of storm type
        designations and  there appeared to be no consistent naming
        convention for cyclones that were  not hurricanes, tropical
        depressions, or tropical storms. Many of these  designations
        have been combined into the "Extratropical" category in this 
        dataset.

        This data was put together by Jon Hobbs, a PhD student at Iowa
        State.  Thanks Jon!

_U_s_a_g_e:

     data(stormtracks)

_F_o_r_m_a_t:

     A data frame with 5519 rows and 24 variables

