Our Team

The Tropical Cyclone Analysis Project team is comprised of researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Colorado State University (CSU), and the University of Miami (UM).

Project Lead and Principal Investigator

Jonathan L. Vigh

Head shot of Dr. Jonathan Vigh with backdrop of the Flatirons

Dr. Jonathan Vigh (Project Scientist II, Research Applications Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research) works at the intersection of atmospheric science, data science, and weather/climate risk. Dr. Vigh has expertise in tropical meteorology and tropical cyclone dynamics. Dr. Vigh has studied the problem of eye formation in hurricanes to learn how the eye/eyewall structure impacts the subsequent intensification of the storm. Dr. Vigh has also done extensive work to construct aircraft-based data sets and a historical database to further investigate structure and intensity changes in tropical cyclones, with a particular focus on the radius of maximum winds (RMW). Dr. Vigh is the lead developer of the Tropical Cyclone Guidance Project (TCGP) and the Climate Risk Management engine (CRMe). Besides this project, Dr. Vigh is also the Principal Investigator of the Hurricane Risk Calculator project.

Insitutional Principal Investigators

Professor Michael M. Bell

Dr. Jun A. Zhang

Co-Principal Investigators

Dr. Eric A. Hendricks

Dr. Christopher M. Rozoff

Project Collaborators

Dr. Jennifer C. DeHart

Graduate Students

Alex J. DesRosiers

Head shot of Alex DesRosiers with foothills backdrop

Alex DesRosiers is a Ph.D. candidate at Colorado State University. Born and raised in Florida, Alex gained a childhood interest in the tropical cyclones which often threatened the state. Alex obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of Florida and a Master’s Degree from Colorado State University in Atmospheric Science. His current research aims to identify internal mechanisms driving rapid intensification in tropical cyclones observed with NOAA Hurricane Hunter Aircraft. His research interests and projects also include using machine learning techniques to quality control airborne radar data as well as working with instrumentation aboard research aircraft. The end goal of Alex’s work thus far is to provide a better understanding of how rapid intensity changes occur in order to improve future forecasting efforts.

NOAA Points of Contact

Dr. Wallace Hogsett

Dr. Lisa Bucci

Dr. Jason Sippel

Dr. John P. Cangialosi

Dr. Stephanie Stevenson

Dr. Alan Brammer

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