Heather Holbach visits the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters

On 13 and 14 November , the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters hosted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunters and representatives from the  National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance Coordination, All Hurricanes for an end-of-season meeting.  Heather Holbach represented NOAA Research at that meeting to …

2019 Hurricane Field Program Season in Review and Hotwash, 13 November 2019

The purpose of the season review and "hotwash" is to review the highlights from the season and discuss what went right / what went wrong / and what could be done better in the future with respect to Hurricane Field Program operations/plans/logistics, as well as provide feedback to AOC about the aircraft and their operations. …

HRD Monthly Science Meeting of October 2019

October’s science meeting consisted of seven presentations: Sim Aberson -  “A comparison of SAMURAI, HEDAS, and radar analyses for Hurricane Patricia (and a sneak peek into Dorian)” Lisa Bucci - "Understanding the response of tropical cyclone structure to the assimilation of synthetic wind profiles" Hui Christophersen - "TROPICS Radiance OSSE Update" Xiaomin Chen -  “A …

Paper on getting the best TC forecasts using NOAA’s G-IV published in Monthly Weather Review

Summary: During each hurricane season, NOAA’s Gulfstream-IV (G-IV) Hurricane Hunter aircraft measures wind, temperature, humidity, and pressure in and around hurricanes threatening the United States.  An instrument called the dropwindsonde is released from the G-IV to collect the data as it falls to the ocean surface.  The plane currently flies where we expect observations from the …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Sunday, September 29, 2019, 10pm EDT

All three NOAA aircraft flew in and around Hurricane Lorenzo today, with both P3s flying the same tracks (at 8 and 10 kft) through the storm within 15 minutes of each other. The G-IV departed the storm just as the P3s were entering. The G-IV flew an HRD research mission in support of the NESDIS …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Saturday, September 28, 2019, 11pm EDT

All three NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft were airborne at the same time today, in and around Hurricane Lorenzo. The G-IV flew a successful HRD research mission in support of the NESDIS Satellite Validation experiment, flying around Lorenzo in a star pattern that sampled the environmental interaction and aligning the pattern with an NOAA-20 overpass to …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Friday, September 27, 2019, 5pm EDT

All three aircraft, NOAA42, NOAA43, and NOAA49, are now in Barbados due to Hurricane Lorenzo.  NOAA43 spent today conducting a search-and-rescue mission for the tug supply vessel Bourbon Rhode, while NOAA49 conducted its mission as scheduled.  For tomorrow, NOAA42 will conduct another search-and-rescue mission for the tug, while NOAA43 and NOAA49 conduct research missions. NOAA49 will …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Thursday, September 26, 2019, 5pm EDT

Both NOAA43 and NOAA49 are now in Barbados prepared for missions into Hurricane Lorenzo.  NOAA49 will conduct a NESDIS Satellite Validation and Diurnal Cycle Experiment, takeoff from Barbados 0800 AST/EDT (1200 UTC).  The goal is to sample the region around Lorenzo, including the Saharan Air Layer, and regions deemed sensitive to future forecasts.  There will …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 5pm EDT

In preparation for research flights into Hurricane Lorenzo, both NOAA43 and NOAA49 will ferry from Lakeland to Barbados Thursday, 26 September.  NOAA43 will depart at 1000 EDT (1400 UTC) and NOAA49 will leave one hour later.  More details on the specific missions will be provided in tomorrow's update. For the latest information about tropical cyclones …

Hurricane Field Program Update — Friday, September 20, 2019, 5pm EDT

NOAA49 will conduct a tropical cyclone in shear research in and around Hurricane Jerry.  Takeoff will be from Barbados at 1330 AST (1730 UTC), with recovery in Lakeland about 8 hours later.  NOAA42 will be conducting an operational INVEST mission into AL99 just to the east of the Windward Islands, with takeoff at 1030 AST …