Hurricane Hunters take on winter storms

A WC-130J readies for takeoff at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Reserve Hurricane Hunters of the 403rd Wing from Keesler AFB, Miss., deployed for a month to collect weather data ahead of pending winter storms. The data they collect increases the accuracy of the National Weather Service forecast by 10 to 20 percent. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett)

Keesler Air Force Base Airmen and two WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft deployed to Anchorage, Alaska, Jan. 17 for a month-long mission in support of the 2009 Winter Storm Reconnaissance Program.

The 403rd Wing team includes Reserve aircrews, operations, maintenance, aerial porters, and others to improve winter storm forecast models.

Operations are directed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, a part of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Like their tropical reconnaissance missions, winter storm routes can keep crews in the air more than 12 hours at a time.

When a tasking for a flight comes in to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron's deployed operations center at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, a WC-130J crew is alerted and maintenance Airmen ensure there is an aircraft ready to fly.

Showtime and pre-flight are similar to the Hurricane Hunters' normal missions except, depending on weather, maintenance teams de-ice the aircraft. Winter missions require crews to fly at altitudes above 30,000 feet, which is higher than they normally fly in tropical weather systems.

"On average, the data we provide along with the (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) aircraft lead to a 10 to 20 percent reduction in error in the targeted forecasts," said Lt. Col. Roy Deatherage, the mission commander for the 53rd WRS and an aerial reconnaissance weather officer since 1988. "As a result, numerical forecast guidance issued 48 hours prior to the events become as accurate as 36-hour lead time forecasts."

Use of weather reconnaissance aircraft have improved the forecast models more since 1999 than the previous 25 years of satellite data, according to the NCEP.

Unlike in tropical storms, on a winter mission the crew is not trying to pinpoint the center of the storm, in fact, there may not even be a "storm."

"Often, the crews are flying from one to four days in advance of a potential storm system in the Pacific that appears headed for either Alaska or the continental U.S.," Colonel Deatherage said.

On board the aircraft, the aerial reconnaissance weather officer and weather reconnaissance loadmaster take atmospheric observations at predetermined points along a flight track where the measurements are expected to have the greatest chance of improving the forecasts.

The weather reconnaissance loadmaster drops highly sensitive devices, called dropsondes, which fall at about 2,500 feet per second, in areas of the atmosphere as requested by NCEP officials. As they fall toward the ocean, the dropsondes measure temperature, wind speed, humidity and pressure. Aircraft follow what are called synoptic patterns, which are huge ovals sometimes more than 3,000 miles round-trip.

Colonel Deatherage said that during a typical tropical mission, dropsondes are released at certain points defined by the National Hurricane Center. This is usually four drops every time the aircraft passes through the eye with an additional four to eight per mission in the most significant wind bands. In contrast, Pacific winter missions average 16 to 22 sondes dropped. For impending Atlantic winter missions the average is lower, closer to five.

The information collected is checked onboard and then relayed by satellite to the NOAA Weather Service supercomputer that incorporates it into the agency's numerical prediction models. This information helps "fill-in-the-blanks" or bolster the data in computer climate models that forecast storms and precipitation for the entire U.S.

"The goal is to make a good forecast so cities can be prepared with snow plows, and other snow removal and mitigation equipment to diminish the impact of a winter storm on a city," Colonel Deatherage said. "If they are better prepared, they can recover more quickly. That can be crucial for residents living in harm's way. These forecasts provide people in the path of the storms with warnings that can save lives."

While the Hurricane Hunters are patrolling the north Pacific, NOAA officials are using its Gulfstream G-IV aircraft to fly missions from Honolulu. Between the two units, they are able to cover the parts of the Pacific that directly affect the U.S.

Each year, the 53rd WRS and NOAA rotate deployed locations to better improve the forecasting models. The G-IV flies higher and collects a slightly different data set than that of the WC-130J.

Since 1996, the two organizations have been flying these missions in support of the NCEP.

This project does not encompass the entirety of the 53rd WRS staff's winter taskings. The unit also receives taskings for the East Coast of the U.S. to assist forecasters with pending Nor'easter storms.

The Hurricane Hunters normally fly several of these missions in support of the National Weather Service each season beginning Dec. 1 and ending April 30.

In seasons past, the tropical storm season, beginning June 1 and officially ending Nov. 30, has crossed over into the winter storm season. In 2005, the Hurricane Hunters flew winter storm missions and tropical missions at the same time. That year, the final storm of the hurricane season was recorded in early January.

Hurricane Hunters support weather study from Guam

by Tech. Sgt. Brian Bahret, 36th Wing Public Affairs


ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) -- Two Air Force Reserve WC-130J Hercules and a Naval Research Lab P-3 Orion deployed here recently to conduct meteorological research on tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific from August through September.

During the project, labeled Tropical Cyclone Structure-2008, aircrews from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters" at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., will work with scientists from the U.S. Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.

The agencies, both located in Monterey, Calif., are conducting a multi-national study to understand, observe and predict the potential impacts of Pacific tropical cyclones.

"It is part of a nine-nation project under the umbrella of the World Meteorological Organization, which is an arm of the United Nations," said Patrick Harr, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., and lead scientist for the program. "The overall goal is to increase predictability associated with all aspects of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific."

Russell Elsberry, a professor of meteorology at the NPS who is assisting with the study said researchers from Japan, Korea and Taiwan are supporting the endeavor. He added Germany, England, France and the European Union are also assisting because the information learned in the Pacific could be applied to predicting similar events in the Atlantic.

To facilitate the study, scientists enlisted the aid of the 53rd WRS and their WC-130s.

"The WC-130J is an essential component of the observational strategy to study the typhoon life cycle," said Professor Elsberry.

Fifteen 53rd WRS maintainers and 13 flyers are deployed to Andersen to ensure the aircraft are ready to fly 24 hours a day, according to Lt. Col. Roy Deatherage, 53rd WRS mission commander. The seasoned aircrews will monitor the cyclone and eventually fly into the storm's eye wall when it matures, chasing the storm until it transcends into something else entirely.

"Our mission here is to better understand the structure, the formation and what makes a tropical system tick out there in the Pacific," said Colonel Deatherage. "In its infancy, before it is even a tropical depression or hurricane, we'll go out and collect data."

The Hurricane Hunters are conducting their portion of the research using WC-130s fitted with a variety of equipment used for weather research.

"In flight, the aircraft measures 28 parameters including wind speed, direction, temperature -- all of this is sent real time via satellite from the plane to the customer back here [at Andersen]," said the colonel.

He said the equipment and sensors onboard will help provide key data for the research project.

According to the 53rd WRS officials, a critical piece of equipment onboard the aircraft is the dropsonde system. The GPS Dropsonde Windfinding System is a cylindrically-shaped instrument about 16 inches long and 3.5 inches in diameter and weighs approximately 2.5 pounds. The dropsonde is equipped with a high frequency radio and other sensing devices and is released from the aircraft about every 400 miles over water.

The scientists will rely heavily on the data collected by the dropsondes as they fall to the ocean.

"A critical mission of the WC-130 with its dropsonde deployments, and especially the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer, is to observe the typhoon intensity and wind structure in as many conditions as possible from the formation stage to the extra-tropical transition stage," said Professor Elsberry.

As the instrument descends to the sea surface, it measures and relays to the aircraft a vertical atmospheric profile of the temperature, humidity and barometric pressure and wind data, explained Colonel Deatherage.

Professor Elsberry said the aircrews will actively monitor and report on how tropical cyclones form, intensify and change through their life cycle and the impact they may later have across the North Pacific and potentially North America.

"The measurements will fill a critical gap in the validation of the satellite-based techniques for intensity estimation, which thus far have only been validated in the Atlantic where the WC-130Js of the 53rd WRS regularly fly such missions," said Professor Elsberry. "Since the typhoons typically form from monsoon conditions and have different structures than hurricanes, these WC-130J measurements are extremely important."

From Guam, the information is processed and sent to the operations center at the NPS in Monterey.

"They're the brain trust for all of this. They'll put it into a computer model," said Colonel Deatherage.

The data collected by the WC-130s at Andersen are only one piece of the puzzle; three other research aircraft will measure different aspects of the storm.

"There are four aircraft in total that will be moving about the (Western Pacific) from Andersen (Air Base) to Kadena (AB, Japan) to Atsugi, Yokota and Misawa in Japan to collect data on the storms as they approach Japan," said Professor Elsberry.

A Naval Research Libratory P-3 Orion, also flying from Andersen AB, will collect data using its ELDORA radar which maps the structure of the storm. An Astra business-class jet will fly out of Taiwan and a Falcon business-class jet will fly from the U.S. Naval Air Facility-Atsugi, Japan. Both aircraft are modified with equipment for meteorological studies.

In addition to the aircraft, scientists working from Hawaii will launch high-altitude driftsondes to round out the research. Driftsondes are zero-pressure balloons that go up to 60,000 feet, according to Colonel Deatherage. He said the balloon has a gondola that has small dropsondes the scientists can release remotely by satellite.

"It is really the first research program that plans to observe the entire lifecycle of a tropical cyclone from formation near Guam to transition into the midlatitudes near Japan," said Professor Harr. He said the data collected will be invaluable to helping scientists understand and predict similar events in the Pacific and the Atlantic.

Military Tracks Hurricane Dolly, Readies Relief Support

Blog Editor Note: The cover story in the August issue of Monitoring Times magazine has an extensive article on monitoring the hurricane hunters. Issue is on sale now on newstands or is available from Grove Enterprises at http://www.grove-ent.com.

By Donna Miles, American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 - "Hurricane Hunters" from the Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew through Hurricane Dolly last night and this morning as it headed toward the Texas coast, relaying critical data to National Weather Service forecasters in Miami.

Six-person crews from the squadron have been tracking the storm since July 16, when it was a tropical disturbance over St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, reported Air Force 1st Lt. Douglas Gautrau, a squadron aerial reconnaissance weather officer aboard last night's mission.

Since then, the squadron has been flying its C-130J aircraft 24/7 out of its base at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., delivering near-real-time data to the National Weather Service.

Gautrau and his fellow crewmembers took off from Keesler at about 7 last night for a 10-hour mission, crisscrossing Dolly in what Gautrau described as an "alpha pattern." They used sophisticated onboard instruments and small "dropsonde" canisters dropped by parachute to collect the most accurate measurements of the hurricane's location and intensity. The canisters relay details about barometric pressure, wind speed and direction and other measurements to the aircraft during their descent until they hit the water, Gautrau explained.

After a quick quality-control check on the data collected, the crew forwarded it every 10 minutes to the National Hurricane Center.

The aircrews, which consist of an aircraft commander and copilot, flight engineer, navigator, weather officer and dropsonde operator, fly through rough turbulence and heavy rains during the missions. The heaviest turbulence occurs in the "eye wall," the circular area directly around the hurricane's eye.

Gautrau described last night's turbulence as "moderate," but "nothing too bad" as the aircraft encountered 75-knot wind speeds. "It can get pretty bumpy," he said.

Toward the end of the mission, Hurricane Dolly had strengthened, and its leading edge was approaching the Gulf Coast near the Texas-Mexico border. Heavy rain and sustained 95 mph winds pounded the coast as Dolly's eye headed toward Brownsville, Texas.

For Gautrau, last night's flight through Hurricane Dolly was a rite of passage: his first hurricane mission without the benefit of an instructor watching over his shoulder.

"At some points, I'd think, 'Holy cow. I'm in a hurricane,'" he said. "Other times, I'd think, 'Holy cow. I still have to do my job.'"

But with that mission now complete, Gautrau said, he's thrilled to have "the best weather job out there." A native of New Orleans, he said he understands the impact of severe weather and knows he and his fellow crewmembers are giving the National Weather Service the best data possible so it can make accurate forecasts.

"I get a lot of joy out of this job, and I feel that what we are doing is a great benefit to the public," he said.

As the Hurricane Hunters continued their missions, some 600 Texas National Guard members were on the ground, preparing to offer assistance after Hurricane Dolly makes landfall, reported Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gregory Ripps, a Texas Guard spokesman.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry authorized the call for up to 1,200 Texas Guardsmen, to assist civilian emergency responders preparing for the first storm to threaten the United States this hurricane season.

Troops were fanning out across the region, poised to provide search-and-rescue support and emergency relief as required, Ripps said. Shelter management teams were standing by in Brownsville and McAllen, and the Guardsmen set up distribution points in the towns of Alice and Weslaco.

Meanwhile, the Texas Guard's Joint Operations Center is maintaining contact with the State Operations Center, as both monitor the hurricane.

Officials predict rain accumulations of four to eight inches, with isolated deluges of 15 inches, over much of southern Texas during the next few days. Coastal flooding of four to six feet above normal tide levels, with dangerous battering waves, was predicted north of the storm's landfall.

Smurfs up: Keesler Hurricane Hunters ready for storm season

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFPN) -- When Hurricane Hunter crews from Keesler Air Force Base track severe storms in 2008 with their WC-130J Hercules aircraft, they will do so with the latest equipment received Feb. 15 that will collect data and provide weather warnings.

Members of Air Force Reserve Command's 403rd Wing took delivery of the last of 10 stepped-frequency microwave radiometers, known as "smurfs," that are state-of-the-art instruments designed to continuously and accurately measure the winds at the ocean's surface directly below an aircraft.

The technologically advanced WC-130J began to be upgraded last year with the smurf, enhancing the lifesaving storm data collection by the only operational weather reconnaissance squadron in the world. Airmen of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron use WC-130Js to track hurricanes, tropical depressions and severe weather.

"The SFMR will be the biggest advance I can think of to improve hurricane intensity forecasts," said Max Mayfield, the National Hurricane Center former director.

As a plane flies through a storm, the SFMR senses microwave radiation naturally emitted from foam created on the sea by winds at the surface. Computers then determine wind speeds based on the levels of microwave radiation detected.

In the past, crews extrapolated wind speeds at the aircraft's altitude or from a dropsonde released from the aircraft.

The smurf directly measures the surface winds and is not confined to a single point like the dropsonde. This constant measurement of surface winds gives National Hurricane Center officials a more complete picture of the storm.

The smurf can also determine rainfall rates within a storm system. This, in addition to wind speeds at flight level, provides structural detail of the storm.

The Hurricane Hunters improve the accuracy of the National Hurricane Center's forecast by 30 percent, a number likely to rise with the use of the smurf.