3DTCR: A Physics-Based Generative Framework for Vortex-Following 3D Reconstruction to Improve Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasting

TL;DR

3DTCR is a physics-based generative AI framework that reconstructs detailed 3D tropical cyclone structures, significantly improving intensity forecasts over existing models while reducing computational costs.

Contribution

The paper introduces 3DTCR, a novel physics-informed generative AI model that enhances 3D tropical cyclone structure reconstruction and intensity prediction.

Findings

Outperforms ECMWF-HRES in TC intensity prediction at nearly all lead times up to 5 days.

Reduces RMSE of maximum wind speed by 36.5% compared to FuXi inputs.

Efficiently captures fine-scale TC structures at lower computational cost.

Abstract

Tropical cyclone (TC) intensity forecasting remains challenging as current numerical and AI-based weather models fail to satisfactorily represent extreme TC structure and intensity. Although intensity time-series forecasting has achieved significant advances, it outputs intensity sequences rather than the three-dimensional inner-core fine-scale structure and physical mechanisms governing TC evolution. High-resolution numerical simulations can capture these features but remain computationally expensive and inefficient for large-scale operational applications. Here we present 3DTCR, a physics-based generative framework combining physical constraints with generative AI efficiency for 3D TC structure reconstruction. Trained on a six-year, 3-km-resolution moving-domain WRF dataset, 3DTCR enables region-adaptive vortex-following reconstruction using conditional Flow Matching(CFM), optimized via latent domain adaptation and two-stage transfer learning. The framework mitigates limitations imposed by low-resolution targets and over-smoothed forecasts, improving the representation of TC inner-core structure and intensity while maintaining track stability. Results demonstrate that 3DTCR outperforms the ECMWF high-resolution forecasting system (ECMWF-HRES) in TC intensity prediction at nearly all lead times up to 5 days and reduces the RMSE of maximum WS10M by 36.5% relative to its FuXi inputs. These findings highlight 3DTCR as a physics-based generative framework that efficiently resolves fine-scale structures at lower computational cost, which may offer a promising avenue for improving TC intensity forecasting.