Simulation of hurricane waves with parametric wind fields

This paper compares three commonly used parametric models of hurricane winds and evaluates their application In the wave model WAM. The parametric models provide wind fields based on best tracks of hurricanes and WAM simulates wave growth based on the wind energy input. The model package is applied to hindcast the wind and wave conditions of Hurricane Iniki, which directly hit the Hawaiian Island of Kauai in 1992. The comparisons show that the wind and wave models can accurately predict the wind speed and wave height near the center of the storm.