
HWind
Observation-based tropical cyclone data for real-time and historical events.
Overview of RMS HWind
(Re)insurers, brokers, capital markets, academia, and government agencies rely on HWind products in a variety of use cases (or applications), including real-time event preparation and response, post-event hazard and loss assessments and validation against past experience, and research.
Stay Ahead of the Storm
Understand forecast track, timing, intensity, and uncertainty across multiple forecast scenarios up to 5-days before impact, to inform proactive preparation strategies.
Time-Sensitive Insights
Quantify potential hazard and loss impacts, anticipate likely claims, deploy adjusters effectively, and provide frequent updates for internal and external reporting
Optimize for the Future
Validate historical claims and loss experience for custom or internal views of risk, or improve event response processes for future events.
HWind Real-Time Analysis
Real-time tropical cyclone data leading up to, during, and following the storm’s passage.
Forecasting
5-day forecast track scenarios, wind and storm surge footprints, and wind probability analytics made available multiple times per day (up to 6x) once an Atlantic tropical cyclone is named
Snapshots
Instantaneous views of the tropical cyclone track and hazard characteristics produced every 6 hours throughout the storm’s life cycle
Cumulative Footprints
Wind field footprint produced on a rolling, cumulative basis every 6 hours over the lifetime of the storm, leveraging all preceding snapshot analyses
Post-Event Footprints
Full wind field footprint and track produced 1-3 days after landfall, based on expert review of all available data used during and after the event
HWind Enhanced Archive
A catalog of 25+ years of high-resolution images, snapshots, and footprints from historical hurricanes
Same HWind Framework
Informed by the same underlying science as the HWind Real-Time Analysis offerings
Additional Data
Incorporates new, revised, or reprocessed data sources and track information made available after the event
Reduced Uncertainty
Informed by additional analysis iterations to match observational data and create the best representation of a storm’s track and hazard profile over time
Continuously Growing
Library is updated annually as new data becomes available and new storms occur
Spotlight


Unmatched Scientific Credibility
Backed by hundreds of citations in peer-reviewed publications across a variety of research fields, HWind data is used by researchers and scientists for numerous applications, including numerical weather prediction model validation, and as inputs for storm surge and wave models.

Release of HWind Forecasting Products (2019)
“Powered by a combination of HWind real-time observational data feeds, real-time track forecast data, and the RMS North Atlantic Hurricane modeling framework, our new forecasting products help the market gain earlier insights into potential hazard and loss impacts before landfall, informing key, time-critical decisions as the event unfolds."
Jeff Waters
Sr. Product Manager, North Atlantic Hurricane Models, RMS
Related Products

Cyclone, Hurricane, and Typhoon
Assess tropical cyclone risk to inform sound underwriting, portfolio management, and risk transfer decisions.

ExposureIQ
Manage your entire book of business more efficiently and accurately than ever before with this purpose-built solution for analyzing exposure concentrations.

Risk Modeler 2.0
Leverage structure-based modeling and analytical tools, including intelligent model processing and big data query capabilities.
Learn More

Unrivalled Insight and Detail
HWind products reflect wind field characteristics with more frequency, accuracy, and granularity than publicly available sources, including the National Hurricane Center.
HWind datasets incorporate unique wind field analysis metrics developed by HWind scientists, such as Integrated Kinetic Energy, a globally recognized index for measuring tropical cyclone size and intensity, and a proven alternative to the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Unparalleled Suite of Observational Data Sources
HWind incorporates the most comprehensive set of observational data sources in the market. The mix or private and public data feeds span more than thirty land, air, and sea-based platforms including aircraft reconnaissance, dropsondes, airborne Doppler radar wind measurements, buoys, satellites, and coastal observation networks. As of 2019, HWind also incorporates data from more than 10 types of deterministic and ensemble forecasting models.

HWind Legacy Archive
RMS hosts a publicly-available legacy version of HWind archive data, which contains products from historical events through 2013, developed while HWind was a public entity under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For more information on how to access this data, please click the link below.
Resources

RMS HWind Hurricane Forecasting and Response and ExposureIQ: Exposure Management Without the Grind
Accessing data in real-time to assess and manage an insurance carrier’s potential liabilities from a loss event remains the holy grail for exposure management teams and is high on a business’ overall wish list A 2021 PwC Pulse Survey of U.S. risk management leaders found that risk executives are increasingly taking advantage of “tech solutions for real-time and automated processes, including dynamic risk monitoring (30 percent), new risk management tech…

RMS HWind: Advances in Real Time Hurricane Guidance and Forecasting
As we move into the third month of the current hurricane season in the tropical North Atlantic, it has been a busy start with a record nine named storms to date. Thankfully, none of these events have been particularly intense or damaging, but this may change as the season reaches its climatological peak. Many of the latest forecasts continue to suggest that warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures will persist and La Niña conditions emerge during…

RMS + Artemis: HWind Interview
Watch interview of Jeff Waters and Jin Shah as they discuss upcoming hurricane season with Artemis

New RMS HWind Forecasting Solution Offers Critical Insights Pre-Landfall For North Atlantic Hurricanes
NEWARK, Calif. - October 03, 2019 RMS, a leading global risk modeling and analytics firm, announced the release of RMS HWind forecasting products for the North Atlantic Basin. Available as part of the RMS HWind Real-Time Analysis Solution suite, RMS HWind forecasting products support proactive event response strategies ahead of landfall by delivering five-day forecast track scenarios, hazard footprints, and gust probability analytics every 12…

National Wind Institute Awarded $1.46-Million Research Contract
RMS awards research contract to Texas Tech University's National Wind Institute.

RMS HWind Forecasting: Untangling the Spaghetti
Every twist and turn of a real-time hurricane can affect global financial markets, public safety, or government and international aid agencies that provide assistance. Within the (re)insurance space, the ability to understand forecast track, timing, and potential hazard and loss impacts before landfall helps entities to prepare and execute their event response processes effectively. This includes having adequate capital to cover claims, setting up claim centers…

Tracking Hurricane Dorian: Understanding Forecast Uncertainty
Hurricane Dorian looks set to pass over the northern Bahamas in the coming days as potentially a Category 5 major hurricane, but forecasts regarding future U.S. impacts remain significantly uncertain, with the latest guidance providing a twist in the tale that no one anticipated a few days ago. Understanding the Uncertainty: A Matter of Timing The meteorological situation that Hurricane Dorian finds itself in is as fascinating as it is uncertain. Several…

Find the Right HWind Solution for Your Organization