{"id":44311,"date":"2019-08-27T15:32:48","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T19:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/?p=44311"},"modified":"2019-08-27T15:37:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T19:37:13","slug":"noaa-hurricane-hunters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/2019\/08\/noaa-hurricane-hunters\/","title":{"rendered":"NOAA Hurricane Hunters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Specially equipped NOAA aircraft play an integral role in hurricane forecasting. Data collected during hurricanes by these highflying meteorological stations and from a variety of other sources are fed into numerical computer models to help forecasters predict how intense a hurricane will be, and when and where it will make landfall. These computer models fulfill two important purposes: to help forecasters make accurate predictions during a hurricane and to help hurricane researchers achieve a better understanding of storm processes, and improve forecast models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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P-3 Aircraft: Into the Storm Slicing through the eyewall of\na hurricane, buffeted by howling winds, blinding rain and violent updrafts and\ndowndrafts before entering the relative calm of the storm\u2019s eye, NOAA\u2019s two\nLockheed WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft probe every wind and pressure change,\nrepeating the grueling experience again and again during the course of a ten-hour\nmission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists aboard the P-3 deploy probes, called\ndropwindsondes, as the aircraft flies through the hurricane. These instruments\ncontinuously transmit measurements of pressure, humidity, temperature, and wind\ndirection and speed as they fall toward the sea, providing a detailed look at\nthe structure of the storm and its intensity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Storm surge forecasting received a boost with the addition of Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometers to NOAA\u2019s P-3s. SFMRs measure over-ocean wind speed and rain rate in hurricanes and tropical storms, key indicators of potentially deadly storm surges. Surges are a major cause of hurricane-related deaths. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 NOAA P-3s fly into\nhurricanes at low altitudes (1,500-10,000 ft.) to collect research-mission data\ncritical for computer models that predict hurricane intensity and landfall. In\naddition, NOAA P-3s and U.S. Air Force Reserve WC-130Js conduct hurricane\nreconnaissance missions, primarily to locate the center of the storm and\nmeasure central pressure and surface winds around the eye. Information from\nboth research and reconnaissance flights directly contribute to the safety of\npeople on the vulnerable Atlantic and Gulf coasts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition to flying hurricane research and reconnaissance\nmissions, NOAA P-3s support a wide variety of national and international\nmeteorological and oceanographic research programs, including weather satellite\ndata verification missions, air quality studies, and tornado research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOAA\u2019S HURRICANE HUNTERS <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockheed WP-3D Orion NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC\nADMINISTRATION \u00b7 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Updated May 2018 fact\nsheet | NOAA.gov G-IV Jet: Seeking the Storm\u2019s Path NOAA\u2019s Gulfstream IV-SP\njet, which can fly high, fast and far with a range of 4,000 nautical miles and\na cruising altitude of 45,000 ft., paints a detailed picture of weather systems\nin the upper atmosphere surrounding developing hurricanes. The GIV\u2019s data also\nsupplement the critical low altitude research data that are collected by NOAA\u2019s\nP-3s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the beginning of the 1997 hurricane season, the G-IV\nhas flown missions around every Atlantic-based hurricane that has posed a\npotential threat to the United States. The jet\u2019s mission covers thousands of\nsquare miles surrounding the hurricane, gathering with dropwindsondes vital\nhigh-altitude data needed for improved numerical forecast models. The G-IV maps\nthe steering currents that influence the movement of hurricanes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Data from dropwindsondes are relayed to the aircraft for\ntransmission by satellite to the National Hurricane Center in Miami and the\nNational Centers for Environmental Prediction in Maryland. There, the data are\navailable for many numerical forecast models, providing important information\nabout regions \u2013 mostly over oceans \u2013 in which there are no other sources of\nweather data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 1997, when NOAA obtained the aircraft, data collected\nby the G-IV have enabled numerical guidance computer models to improve\nhurricane landfall and track forecasts by approximately 20 percent. The G-IV\nalso has a tail Doppler radar system that enables the aircraft to acquire\nthree-dimensional hurricane core wind data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After hurricane season, NOAA has used the G-IV to help\nmonitor and study atmospheric rivers and improve winter storm forecasts. The\nG-IV has also been used to study clear air turbulence \u2013 a condition that\nthreatens the safety of air traffic over the Pacific Ocean, helping scientists\nincrease their ability to understand and predict this phenomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOAA Aircraft Operations Center The P-3s and G-IV are based\nat the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) at Lakeland Linder Regional\nAirport in Lakeland, Fla. AOC is part of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation\nOperations, which includes civilians as well as officers of the NOAA Corps, one\nof the nation\u2019s seven uniformed services. NOAA Corps pilots and civilian flight\nengineers, meteorologists and electronic engineers are highly trained to\noperate in the kind of adverse weather conditions that keep other aircraft on\nthe ground. Much of the scientific instrumentation flown aboard NOAA aircraft\nis designed, built, assembled, and calibrated by AOC engineers. During\nnon-hurricane season months, the P-3s and G-IV are tailored for use in other\nsevere weather and atmospheric research programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOAA’s Air Operations Center at Lakeland Linder\nInternational Airport, home of the Hurricane Hunters, is getting two new\naircraft: a modified Gulfstream G550 for use in storm forecasting and atmospheric\nresearch, and a Beechcraft King Air 350 CER turboprop for use in flood and\nwater supply forecasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\n(NOAA) awarded contracts for the purchase of two new aircraft on Monday. One\nwill be a modified Gulfstream G550, which NOAA says will be used for missions\nincluding hurricane and tropical storm forecasts and atmospheric research. The\nsecond addition will be a Beechcraft King Air 350 CER turboprop. According to\nNOAA, the King Air will be outfitted with remote sensing equipment to gather\ndata used in flood, river level and water supply forecasts. It will also be\nutilized in coastal mapping and aerial damage survey missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese American-made aircraft will greatly enhance NOAA\u2019s\nability to collect data that are vital to forecasters, researchers, and\nemergency managers,\u201d said acting NOAA administrator Neil Jacobs. \u201cObservations\nfrom the high-altitude Gulfstream jet will greatly enhance NOAA\u2019s predictive\ncapabilities for hurricane track and intensification, while the King Air\nturboprop will provide essential data for many missions, including planning and\nrecovery efforts for coastal and inland flooding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Delivery of the $40.7 million G550 is expected in 2022. The\nKing Air 350 CER contract came in at $11.8 million with the aircraft scheduled\nto enter service in spring 2021. Both aircraft will be based at the NOAA\nAircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, from which the agency\ncurrently operates a fleet of nine aircraft modified for environmental\ndata-gathering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Specially equipped NOAA aircraft play an integral role in hurricane forecasting. Data collected during hurricanes by these highflying meteorological stations and from a variety of other sources are fed into… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":44314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44311"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}