Jason Sippel

Research Highlights

November 18, 2021

Scientists Sample Multiple Storms as Tropics Enter Peak for Hurricane Formation

August 6, 2021

NOAA Tests New Lidar Technology to Improve Data on Hurricane Track and Intensity

May 27, 2021

AOML Scientists Prepare for 2021 Hurricane Season

Research Interests

Data assimilation, predictability, observation system design.

Jason Sippel, Ph.D.

Meteorologist, Hurricane Research Division

305.361.4368

Jason.Sippel@noaa.gov

4301 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, Florida 33149

The graphic illustrates that reconnaissance data improves HWRF intensity forecasts by 10-15%

“This graphic shows that reconnaissance data improves accuracy for the Hurricane Weather Research Forecast (HWRF) model intensity forecasts by 10-15%.”

About

Dr. Jason Sippel’s research focuses on improving operational hurricane forecasts through improved data assimilation. This covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from improving the efficiency of the hurricane reconnaissance program to assisting with the development of more advanced data assimilation techniques in NOAA’s operational hurricane models. He also helps evaluate the impacts of assimilating new observations that are not currently in the operational data stream.

Dr. Sippel also co-leads the Hurricane and Ocean Testbed (HOT) at the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The mission of the HOT is to transfer new technology, research results, and observational advances more rapidly and smoothly into operations. One of his major focuses in leading the HOT is to improve the use and understanding of reconnaissance observations so that NHC can better assess tropical cyclone intensity and structure in real time.

Current Work & CV

Current Work

Point of Contact between NHC, EMC, HRD, and external collaborators for improving TC reconnaissance and data assimilation in NOAA’s hurricane models.

Data assimilation developer for NOAA’s hurricane models.

Assist AOML in providing a quantitative basis for observing system design, data assimilation, forecast model decisions that minimize the risk for significant observing system investments, and that optimize NOAA’s observing system portfolio within resource and time constraints.

Assistant manager for Joint Hurricane Testbed.

Download Full CV

Education

2008, Ph.D. Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

2004, M.S. Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

2002, B.S. Meteorology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Publications

Alaka, G.J. Jr., J.A. Sippel, Z. Zhang, H.-S Kim, F. Marks, V. Tallapragada, A. Mehra, X. Zhang, A. Poyer, and S.G. Gopalakrishnan. Lifetime performance of the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model for North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0139.1 2024
Ref. 4396
Sippel, J.A., S.D. Ditchek, K. Ryan, and C.W. Landsea. The G-IV inner circumnavigation: A story of successful organic interactions between research and operations at NOAA. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 105(1):E218-E232, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0084.1 2024
Ref. 4365
Ditchek, S.D., and J.A. Sippel. A comparison of the impacts of inner-core, over-vortex, and environmental dropsondes on tropical cyclone forecasts during the 2017-2020 hurricane seasons. Weather and Forecasting, 38(11):2169-2187, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-23-0055.1 2023
Ref. 4304

View all Related Publications

Alaka, G.J. Jr., J.A. Sippel, Z. Zhang, H.-S Kim, F. Marks, V. Tallapragada, A. Mehra, X. Zhang, A. Poyer, and S.G. Gopalakrishnan. Lifetime performance of the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model for North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0139.1 2024
Ref. 4396
Sippel, J.A., S.D. Ditchek, K. Ryan, and C.W. Landsea. The G-IV inner circumnavigation: A story of successful organic interactions between research and operations at NOAA. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 105(1):E218-E232, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0084.1 2024
Ref. 4365
Ditchek, S.D., and J.A. Sippel. A comparison of the impacts of inner-core, over-vortex, and environmental dropsondes on tropical cyclone forecasts during the 2017-2020 hurricane seasons. Weather and Forecasting, 38(11):2169-2187, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-23-0055.1 2023
Ref. 4304
Ditchek, S.D., J.A. Sippel, G.J. Alaka Jr., S.B. Goldenberg, And L. Cucurull. A systematic assessment of the overall dropsonde impact during the 2017-2020 hurricane seasons using the basin-scale HWRF. Weather and Forecasting, 38(6):789-816, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-22-0102.1 2023
Ref. 4241
Ditchek, S.D., J.A. Sippel, P.J. Marinescu, and G.J. Alaka, Jr. Improving best-track verification of tropical cyclones: A new metric to identify forecast consistency. Weather and Forecasting, 38(6):817-831, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-22-0168.1 2023
Ref. 4243
Holbach, H.M., O. Bousquet, L. Bucci, P. Chang, J. Cione, S. Ditchek, J. Doyle, J.-P. Duvel, J. Elston, G. Goni, K.K. Hon, K. Ito, Z. Jelenak, X. Lei, R. Lumpkin, C.R. McMahon, C. Reason, E. Sanabia, L.K. Shay, J.A. Sippel, A. Sushko, J. Tang, K. Tsuboki, H. Yamada, J. Zawislak, and J.A. Zhang. Recent advancements in aircraft and in situ observations of tropical cyclones. Tropical Cyclone Research and Review, 12(2):81-99, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcrr.2023.06.001 2023
Ref. 4271
Poyer, A., W. Komaromi, S. Gopalakrishnan, L. Wolf, F. Marks, G. Alaka Jr., J. Anderson, V. Tallapragada, M. Brennan, A. Mehra, X. Zhang, Z. Zhang, A. Hazelton, D.A. Zelinsky, J.L. Franklin, A. Aksoy, C. Alexander, M. Bender, L. Bernardet, M. Biswas, J. Cangialosi, M. DeMaria, R. Dunlap, M. Ek, G. Eosco, L. Gramer, L. Harris, J.S. Hilderbrand, E. Kalina, H.-S. Kim, P. Kucera, B. Liu, P. McCaslin, T. Marchok, J. Moskaitis, K. Musgrave, L. Nance, K. Newman, M. Onderlinde, W. Ramstrom, D. Rosen, J. Sims, J. Sippel, D. Stern, R. Torn, X. Wang, W. Wang, Y. Weng, B.C. Zachry, C. Zhang, M. Zhang, and L. Zhu. 2021-2022 HFIP R&D activities summary: Recent results and operational implementation. HFIP Technical Report, HFIP-2023-1, 73 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/exgj-1n68 2023
Ref. 4413
Sellwood, K.J., J.A. Sippel, and A. Aksoy. Assimilation of Coyote small uncrewed aircraft system observations in Hurricane Maria (2017) using operational HWRF. Weather and Forecasting, 38(6):901-919, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-22-0214.1 2023
Ref. 4242
Christophersen, H., J.A. Sippel, A. Aksoy, and N.L. Baker. Recent advances for tropical cyclone data assimilation. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1517(1):25-43, https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14873 2022
Ref. 4215
Sippel, J.A., X. Wu, S.D. Ditchek, V. Tallapragada, and D. Kleist. Impacts of assimilating additional reconnaissance data on operational GFS tropical cyclone forecasts. Weather and Forecasting, 37(9):1615-2796, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-22-0058.1 2022
Ref. 4121
Zawislak, J., R.F. Rogers, S.D. Aberson, G.J. Alaka, G. Alvey, A. Aksoy, L. Bucci, J. Cione, N. Dorst, J. Dunion, M. Fischer, J. Gamache, S. Gopalakrishnan, A. Hazelton, H.M. Holbach, J. Kaplan, H. Leighton, F. Marks, S.T. Murillo, P. Reasor, K. Ryan, K. Sellwood, J.A. Sippel, and J.A. Zhang. Accomplishments of NOAA’S airborne hurricane field program and a broader future approach to forecast improvement. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 103(2):E311-E338, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0174.1 2022
Ref. 3984
Gopalakrishnan, S., D. Koch, S. Upadhayay, M. DeMaria, F. MARKS, E.N. Rappaport, A. Mehra, V. Tallapragada, Y. Jung, G. Alaka, C. Alexander, M. Bender, L. Bernardet, M. Biswas, T. Black, M. Brennan, J. Cangialosi, J. Dong, R. Dunlap, M. Ek, J.L. Franklin, L. Gramer, G. Hallliwell, L. Harris, A. Hazelton, J.S. Hilderbrand, E. Kalina, H.S. Kim, P. Kucera, N. Lett, B. Liu, T. Marchok, P. McCaslin, K. Musgrave, L. Nance, K. Newman, M. Onderlinde, A. Penny, W. Ramstrom, J. Sippel, R. Torn, X. Wang, W. Wang, J. Whitaker, H. Winterbottom, D.A. Zelinsky, F. Zhang, C. Zhang, X. Zhang, Z. Zhang, and L. Zhu. 2019 Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project R&D activities summary: Recent results and operational implementation. HFIP Technical Report, HFIP2020-1, 45 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/qzd3-m787 2020
Ref. 3876
Li, J., J. Li, C. Velden, P. Wang, T.J. Schmit, and J. Sippel. Impact of rapid‐scan‐based dynamical information from GOES‐16 on HWRF hurricane forecasts. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 125(3):e2019JD031647, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031647 2020
Ref. 3851
Wick, G.A., J.P. Dunion, P.G. Black, J.R. Walker, R.D. Torn, A.C. Kren, A. Aksoy, H. Christophersen, L. Cucurull, B. Dahl, J.M. English, K. Friedman, T.R. Peevey, K. Sellwood, J.A. Sippel, V. Tallapragada, J. Taylor, H. Wang, R.E. Hood, and P. Hall. NOAA’s Sensing Hazards with Operational Unmanned Technology (SHOUT) Experiment: Observations and forecast impacts. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(7):E698-E987, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0257.1 2020
Ref. 3771
Munsell, E.B., F. Zhang, S.A. Braun, J.A. Sippel, and A.C. Didlake. The inner-core temperature structure of Hurricane Edouard (2014): Observations and ensemble variability. Monthly Weather Review, 146(1):135-155, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-17-0095.1 2018
Ref. 3475
Nystrom, R.G., F. Zhang, E.B. Munsell, S.A. Braun, J.A. Sippel, Y. Weng, and K. Emanuel. Predictability and dynamics of Hurricane Joaquin (2015) explored through convection-permitting ensemble sensitivity experiments. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 75(2):401-424, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-17-0137.1 2018
Ref. 3479
Tong, M., J.A. Sippel, V. Tallapragada, E. Liu, C. Kieu, I.-H. Kwon, W. Wang, Q. Liu, Y. Ling, and B. Zhang. Impact of assimilating aircraft reconnaissance observations on tropical cyclone initialization and prediction using operational HWRF and GSI ensemble-variational hybrid data assimilation. Monthly Weather Review, 146(12):4155-4177, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-17-0380.1 2018
Ref. 3543
Wang, W., J.A. Sippel, S. Abarca, L. Zhu, B. Liu, Z. Zhang, A. Mehra, and V. Tallapragada. Improving NCEP HWRF simulations of surface wind and inflow angle in the eye area. Weather and Forecasting, 33(3):887-898, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-17-0115.1 2018
Ref. 3511
Zhang, J.A., F.D. Marks, J.A. Sippel, R.F. Rogers, X. Zhang, S.G. Gopalakrishnan, Z. Zhang, and V. Tallapragada. Evaluating the impact of improvement in the horizontal diffusion parameterization on hurricane prediction in the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) model. Weather and Forecasting, 33(1):317-329, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-17-0097.1 2018
Ref. 3490