The Evaluation of ERA5’s Applicability in Nearshore Western Atlantic Regions During Hurricanes—“ISAIAS” 2020

Hurricanes cause significant destruction, disrupting transportation, and resulting in loss of life and property. High-precision marine meteorological data are essential for understanding hurricanes. ERA5 provides high temporal resolution and global coverage of analytical data; however, the accuracy of the data during hurricanes is uncertain. To investigate the applicability of ERA5 during hurricanes, this study used buoy data as reference values and assessed the applicability of ERA5 sea-surface wind speed (WS), sea-surface temperature (SST), and sea-surface pressure (SSP) during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane “ISAIAS” through spatial distribution and error analysis. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation and consistency between the trends of ERA5 and reference values. The average correlation coefficients for SSP, WS, and SST are 0.953, 0.822, and 0.607, respectively. Nearshore topography has a significant impact on data accuracy, resulting in greater errors compared to open-water areas. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of ERA5 data during hurricanes.