Assessment of a Parametric Tropical Cyclone Model for Typhoon Wind Modeling in the Yellow Sea

Tropical cyclones (TCs) pose one of the most dangerous threats to the lives and properties in coastal areas. Various parametric models have been developed to simulate TC wind fields and are critical for modeling and assessing the risk of storm surges and coastal inundations. The Holland parametric wind model (Holland, 1980) has been widely applied in the modeling of TC wind fields; however, systematic assessments of its performance in simulating typhoon wind fields in the Yellow Sea, where typhoons undergo extratropical transitions, are rare. Four typhoons that passed over the Yellow Sea were selected, and the wind measurements at 12 gauges and buoys along the Korean coast were used for model validation and assessment. The results showed that the Holland model is capable of producing satisfactory wind results for typhoons passing over the Yellow Sea given accurate TC parameters. The results also highlighted that the model-predicted typhoon winds were highly sensitive to R-max and that the shape coefficient B thus should be chosen carefully when the Holland model wind fields are used for TC-induced storm surge or wave modeling.