| Abstract: | In this paper, we first analyzed cloud drift wind (CDW) data distribution in the vertical direction, and then reassigned the height of every CDW in the research domain in terms of background information, and finally, conducted contrast numerical experiments of assimilating the CDW data before and after reassignment to examine the impacts on the forecast of the track of Typhoon Chanthu (1003) from 00:00 (Coordinated Universal Time) 21 July to 00:00 UTC 23 July, 2010. The analysis results of the CDW data indicate that the number of CDWs is mainly distributed in the mid- and upper-troposphere above 500 hPa, with the maximum number at about 300 hPa. The height reassigning method mentioned in this work may update the height effectively, and the CDW data are distributed reasonably and no obvious contradiction occurs in the horizontal direction after height reassignment. After assimilating the height-reassigned CDW data, especially the water vapor CDW data, the initial wind field around Typhoon Chanthu (1003) became more reasonable, and then the steering current leading the typhoon to move to the correct location became stronger. As a result, the numerical track predictions are improved. |
