Shirley Murillo

Ms. Shirley Murillo is the on-site lead for the Hurricane Wind analysis (H*Wind) science team. This group, comprised of meteorologists and computer software engineers, conduct real time wind analyses products that are available to the scientific community. Shirley is also the science liaison for NOAA’s Joint Hurricane Testbed (JHT). The JHT serves to bridge and transfer new technology and research results into operations. Shirley plays critical role in ensuring the transition of research happens smoothly. Murillo also participates in numerous research flights into tropical cyclones aboard NOAA’s WP-3D aircraft over the Atlantic Basin and Gulf of Mexico. On these flights she has operated and monitored various instruments onboard the aircraft. Ms. Murillo served as the Hurricane Field Program Director (2011 and 2012) where she was responsible for organizing, planning and overseeing all research and operational flights into tropical cyclones.

Current Work

Deputy Director, Hurricane Research Division

Education

M.S., Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI

B.S., Meteorology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

Publications

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
Ryan, K., L. Bucci, R. Atlas, J. Delgado, and S. Murillo. Impact of Gulfstream-IV dropsondes on tropical cyclone prediction in a regional OSSE system. Monthly Weather Review, 147(8):2961-2977, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0157.1 2019
Ref. 3643
Atlas, R., L. Bucci, B. Annane, R. Hoffman, and S. Murillo. Observing System Simulation Experiments to assess the potential impact of new observing systems on hurricane forecasting. Marine Technology Society Journal, 49(6):140-148, https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.49.6.3 2015
Ref. 3215

View all Related Publications

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
Ryan, K., L. Bucci, R. Atlas, J. Delgado, and S. Murillo. Impact of Gulfstream-IV dropsondes on tropical cyclone prediction in a regional OSSE system. Monthly Weather Review, 147(8):2961-2977, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0157.1 2019
Ref. 3643
Atlas, R., L. Bucci, B. Annane, R. Hoffman, and S. Murillo. Observing System Simulation Experiments to assess the potential impact of new observing systems on hurricane forecasting. Marine Technology Society Journal, 49(6):140-148, https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.49.6.3 2015
Ref. 3215
Atlas, R., R.N. Hoffman, Z. Ma, G.D. Emmitt, S.A. Wood, S. Greco, S. Tucker, L. Bucci, B. Annane, R.M. Hardesty, and S. Murillo. Observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) to evaluate the potential impact of an optical autocovariance wind lidar (OAWL) on numerical weather prediction. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 32(9):1593-1613, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-15-0038.1 2015
Ref. 3157
Ralph, F.M., J. Intrieri, D. Andra, R. Atlas, S. Boukabara, D. Bright, P. Davidson, B. Entwistle, J. Gaynor, S. Goodman, J.-G. Jiing, A. Harless, J. Huang, G. Jedlovec, J. Kain, S. Koch, B. Kuo, J. Levit, S. Murillo, L.P. Riishojgaard, T. Schneider, R. Schneider, T. Smith, and S. Weiss. The emergence of weather-related testbeds linking research and forecasting operations. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94(8):1187-1211, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00080 2013
Ref. 2883
Rogers, R.F., S.D. Aberson, A. Aksoy, B. Annane, M. Black, J.J. Cione, N. Dorst, J. Dunion, J.F. Gamache, S.B. Goldenberg, S.G. Gopalakrishnan, J. Kaplan, B.W. Klotz, S. Lorsolo, F.D. Marks, S.T. Murillo, M.D. Powell, P.D. Reasor, K.J. Sellwood, E.W. Uhlhorn, T. Vukicevic, J.A. Zhang, and X. Zhang. NOAA’s Hurricane Intensity Forecasting Experiment (IFEX): A progress report. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94(6):859-882, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00089 2013
Ref. 2862
Rappaport, E.N., J.-G. Jiing, C.W. Landsea, S.T. Murillo, and J.L. Franklin. The Joint Hurricane Testbed: Its first decade of tropical cyclone research-to-operations activities reviewed. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 93(3):371-380, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00037.1 2012
Ref. 2670
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, M.M. Bell, G.M. Barnes, F.D. Marks, and P.P. Dodge. Intercomparison of ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD)-retrieved circulation centers and structures of Hurricane Danny (1997) from two coastal WSR-88Ds. Monthly Weather Review, 139(1):153-174, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010MWR3036.1 2011
Ref. 90
Pandya, R., D. Smith, S.A. Ackerman, P.P. Brahma, D.J. Charlevoix, S.Q. Foster, V.K. Gaertner, T.F. Lee, M.J. Hayes, A. Mostek, S.T. Murillo, K.A. Murphy, L. Olsen, D.M. Stanitski, and T. Whittaker. A summary of the 18th Symposium on Education. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 92(1):61-64, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010BAMS2933.1 2011
Ref. 92
Powell, M.D., S.T. Murillo, P.P. Dodge, E.W. Uhlhorn, J.F. Gamache, V. Cardone, A. Cox, S. Otero, N. Carrasco, B. Annane, and R. St. Fleur. Reconstruction of Hurricane Katrina's wind fields for storm surge and wave hindcasting. Ocean Engineering, 37(1):26-36, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2009.08.014 2010
Ref. 215
Pandya, R.E., D.R. Smith, D.J. Charlevoix, S.Q. Foster, R. Hart, M.J. Hayes, M. McGuirk, S.T. Murillo, K.A. Murphy, D.M. Stanitski, and T.M. Whittaker. A summary of the 17th AMS Education Symposium. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 90(10):1545-1548, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2862.1 2009
Ref. 313
Pandya, R.E., D.R. Smith, D.J. Charlevoix, W. Hart, M.J. Hayes, S.T. Murillo, K.A. Murphy, D.M. Stanitski, and T.M. Whittaker. A summary of the 16th Symposium on Education. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 90(6):861-865, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2510.1 2009
Ref. 314
Murillo, S.T. Determination of the circulation center and inner core evolution of Hurricane Danny (1997) using the GBVTD-simplex algorithm. M.S. thesis, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 57 pp., 2008
Ref. 424
Murillo, S.T., R.E. Pandya, R.Y. Chu, J.A. Winkler, R. Czujko, and E.M.C. Cutrim. AMS membership survey results: An overview and longitudinal analysis of the demographics of the American Meteorological Society. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 89(5):727-733, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-89-5-727 2008
Ref. 425
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, G.M. Barnes, M.M. Bell, and F.D. Marks. Determination of the circulation center and inner core evolution of Hurricane Danny (1997) using the GBVTD-simplex algorithm. Extended Abstracts, 28th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Orlando, FL, April 28-May 2, 2008. American Meteorological Society, 5 pp., 2008
Ref. 426
Pandya, R.E., D.R. Smith, D.J. Charlevoix, G.M. Fisher, S.T. Murillo, K.A. Murphy, D.M. Stanitski, and T.M. Whittaker. The 15th AMS Education Symposium. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 88(1):83-85, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-1-83 2007
Ref. 512
Harasti, P.R., C.J. McAdie, P.P. Dodge, W.-C. Lee, J. Tuttle, S.T. Murillo, and F.D. Marks. Real-time implementation of single-Doppler radar analysis methods for tropical cyclones: Algorithm improvements and use with WSR-88D display data. Weather and Forecasting, 19(2):219-239, https://doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2004)0192.0.CO; 2004
Ref. 783
Murillo, S.T., P.P. Dodge, W.-C. Lee, and G.M. Barnes. Implementing a single-Doppler radar technique for tropical cyclones and integrating radar-derived wind fields into H*Wind surface analyses. Preprints, 26th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Miami, FL, May 3-7, 2004. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 606-607, 2004
Ref. 813
Powell, M.D., D. Bowman, D. Gilhousen, S.T. Murillo, N. Carrasco, and R. St. Fleur. Tropical cyclone winds at landfall: The ASOS-C-MAN Wind Exposure Documentation Project. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 85(6):845-851, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-85-6-845 2004
Ref. 817
Harasti, P.R., W.-C. Lee, J.D. Tuttle, C.J. McAdie, P.P. Dodge, S.T. Murillo, and F.D. Marks. Operational implementation of single-Doppler radar algorithms for tropical cyclones. Preprints, 25th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, San Diego, CA, April 29-May 3, 2002. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 487-488, 2002
Ref. 976
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, F.D. Marks, and P.P. Dodge. Examining structural changes and circulation center of Hurricane Danny (1997) using a single-Doppler radar wind retrieval technique. Preprints, 25th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, San Diego, CA, April 29-May 3, 2002. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 485-486, 2002
Ref. 1009
Walsh, E.J., C.W. Wright, D. Vandemark, W.B. Krabill, A.W. Garcia, S.H. Houston, S.T. Murillo, M.D. Powell, P.G. Black, and F.D. Marks. Hurricane directional wave spectrum spatial variation at landfall. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32(6):1667-1684, 2002
Ref. 1037
McAdie, C.J., P.R. Harasti, P.P. Dodge, W.-C. Lee, S.T. Murillo, and F.D. Marks. Real-time implementation of tropical cyclone-specific radar data processing algorithms. Preprints, 30th International Conference on Radar Meteorology, Munich, Germany, July 19-24, 2001. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 466-468, 2001
Ref. 1102
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, F.D. Marks, and P.P. Dodge. Using a single-Doppler radar wind retrieval technique to examine structural changes in Hurricane Danny (1997). Preprints, 30th International Conference on Radar Meteorology, Munich, Germany, July 19-24, 2001. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 148-149, 2001
Ref. 1111
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, and F.D. Marks. Evaluating the GBVTD-tropical center finding simplex algorithm. Preprints, 24th Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, May 29-June 2, 2000. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 312-313, 2000
Ref. 1226
Murillo, S.T., and J.J. O'Brien. The influence of ENSO on eastern Pacific tropical cyclones. Preprints, 23rd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Dallas, TX, January 10-15, 1999. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 437-438, 1999
Ref. 1361
Murillo, S.T., P.P. Dodge, W.-C. Lee, and F.D. Marks. Using the GBVTD technique in nowcasting hurricane windfields using the WSR-88D. Preprints, 29th International Conference on Radar Meteorology, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 12-16, 1999. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 276-277, 1999
Ref. 1362
Murillo, S.T., W.-C. Lee, K. Hondl, P.P. Dodge, C. McAdie, and F.D. Marks. Implementation of the GBVTD technique in nowcasting hurricane wind fields using the WSR-88D. Preprints, 23rd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Dallas, TX, January 10-15, 1999. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 311-312, 1999
Ref. 1363
Houston, S.H., M. Lawrence, S. Spisak, and S.T. Murillo. A verification of National Hurricane Center forecasts of surface wind speed radii in hurricanes. Preprints, Symposium on Tropical Cyclone Intensity Change, Phoenix, AZ, January 11-16, 1998. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 139-140, 1998
Ref. 1455
Murillo, S.T., S.H. Houston, and M.D. Powell. Composites of surface marine observations for hurricanes during 1975-1996. Preprints, 22nd Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology, Ft. Collins, CO, May 19-23, 1997. American Meteorological Society, Boston, 78-79, 1997
Ref. 1586

Awards

2013 South Florida Federal Executive Board Federal Employee of the Year (Management Category) Award

For leadership in managing the 2012 Hurricane Field Program, an effort which involved the collaboration of scientists throughout NOAA, other federal agencies, and academic partners, and the Joint Hurricane Test Bed project.

2011 American Meteorological Society Charles E. Anderson Award

For outstanding support of minorities and women to promote a more diverse workforce through mentoring, education, and community service.

2011 NASA Group Achievement Award

For outstanding contributions to the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field campaign as members of the GRIP Science Team during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season.

2007 Army Corps of Engineers Patriotic Civilian Service Award

In recognition of your participation on the Hurricane Katrina Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force.

2007 U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal

For employing a unique technology to diagnose Hurricane Katrina’s winds, a technology needed for surge, wave, intensity, and ecosystem modeling efforts.

March 2007 NOAA Employee of the Month Award

For research on the boundary layer wind structure of landfalling tropical cyclones with includes real-time surface wind analyses that provide wind field products for use by the National Hurricane Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and emergency managers.

2006 U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal

For conducting field operations immediately following Hurricane Katrina’s Gulf of Mexico passage that were vital to ensuring seafood was safe for public consumption, saving millions in potential fishery losses.

2003 Career Communications Group Young Scientist-Rising Star Award

For outstanding contributions to hurricane research and leadership in science education outreach.

2001 NOAATech Conference – Best Technology Transfer to Operations Award

For outstanding achievement in the research and application of HPCC technology to further NOAA’s service to the nation (presentation about Project H*WIND, a Java application for global tropical cyclone monitoring and wind analysis).

2000 NOAATech Conference – Best JAVA Implementation Award

For their presentation entitled “A Distributed, Real-Time Hurricane Wind Analysis System” (H*WIND)