NOAA's "Hurricane Hunter"
Aircraft Fly Through Pacific Winter Storms and More
The WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream-IV
Jet are Airborne Meteorological Stations
NOAA's "hurricane
hunter" aircraft and their crews may be best known for
their prowess in flying through and around nature's severest
storms over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
However, these flying meteorological stations prove their mettle
on the West Coast and over the Pacific Ocean as well—after
hurricane season has ended and severe Pacific winter storms have
begun.
Why Winter Storm Flights?
Pacific winter storms affect not only the western states directly
hit, but may also affect weather patterns throughout the United
States. On an annual average, the local impacts of these storms
are comparable to those of earthquakes. Yet their prediction
is hindered because they develop over the ocean where data is
sparse. The human and economic costs of winter storms have increased
dramatically in recent years as coastal populations continue
to increase. High winds, heavy rain, and extreme flooding can
occur in a very short period of time as the storm comes ashore.
Even storms that form far out over the Pacific that aren't targeted
at the western U.S. coast may affect weather patterns across
the entire country as the jet stream moves east.
Winter storm data over the Pacific
Ocean are limited because most meteorological technology, such
as the Doppler radar, used by the National
Weather Service is land-based. Accurate warnings to the public
are therefore not always as timely as needed for appropriate
safety preparations. In addition, gathering research data for
climate and weather computer models is essential to NOAA's
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research in expanding its
understanding of the air-sea interactions that cause much of
the weather experienced along the West Coast. This investment
by the nation in weather and climate research and modernized
weather services will reap important long-term benefits for the
safety and economic well being of Americans.
To collect the essential data
needed over the Pacific Ocean to aid winter storm prediction
and research—both for targeted regions of the U.S. western
states and for climatic patterns reaching as far as the East—NOAA
deploys two of its most powerful tools: the P-3
and G-IV
hurricane hunters.
Into the Storm Flies the P-3
Temporarily based in Monterey, Calif., during the winter storm
experiments that cover the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington,
the NOAA P-3 stands ready to fly into the face of an oncoming
storm. Its NOAA Corps pilots and civilian flight engineers, meteorologists
and electronic engineers are highly trained to operate in the
kind of adverse weather conditions that keep other aircraft on
the ground. It is these flights over the ocean that collect the
data land-based instruments cannot provide. The P-3 carries a
Doppler radar antenna in its tail—the first Doppler radar
ever flown—and other airborne data collection systems developed
by NOAA's Science and Engineering Division at the Aircraft Operations
Center. Scientists aboard the aircraft also deploy instruments
called GPS (global positioning system) dropwindsondes as the
P-3 flies through the storm. These devices continuously radio
back to the aircraft measurements of pressure, humidity, temperature,
and wind direction and speed as they fall toward the sea, providing
a detailed look at the structure of the storm and its intensity.
New in 2001 was the addition of satellite communications aboard
the P-3, which provide both voice and data transmission capabilities
for the winter storms experiment along the western U.S. coast.
This is an important improvement, because it allows crucial observations
from the P-3 to be used directly and immediately by the weather
forecasting community.
Into the Distance Goes the
G-IV
Several years ago NOAA acquired a Gulfstream-IV jet and turned
it into the first flying meteorological platform of its kind
in the world. Fleet and far reaching, the sleek G-IV cruises
at altitudes up to 45,000 feet with a range of 4,000 nautical
miles. That capability makes it the perfect tool to gather data
far out into the Pacific for the winter storms experiment, which
seeks to increase our knowledge of the jet stream and sea-air
interfaces that affect climatic patterns across the country.
From its temporary base in Honolulu, the G-IV flies thousands
of miles over the Pacific south of the jetstream, painting a
detailed picture of weather systems in the upper atmosphere surrounding
a developing storm. In 2001 the G-IV also spent considerable
time in the jetstream core, where winds occasionally exceeded
200 mph. Air Force Reserve WC-130 hurricane reconnaissance aircraft
flew out of Alaska at lower altitudes, collecting data north
of the jet stream to supplement the G-IV's data. Like the P-3,
the G-IV deploys dropwindsondes that transmit meteorological
data back to the aircraft; for the winter storms experiment,
additional hardware and processing software are installed to
provide better dropwindsonde data analysis. Together, the G-IV
and P-3, with supplementary data from the Air Force, provide
the most comprehensive data coverage collected in the environment
of winter storms. This operational data is used in computer models
that help forecasters make current predictions.
There's More to the Pacific
than Storms
To make the most of available flight hours, NOAA takes every
opportunity to use the unique characteristics of the P-3 and
G-IV to further our knowledge of the environment. In 2001, instrumentation
was installed on both aircraft that sampled ozone and carbon
monoxide for NOAA's Aeronomy Lab as it monitored the transport
of these gases in the lower troposphere. For the Federal Aviation
Administration, the G-IV sampled the environment with dropwindsondes
where clear air turbulence presented hazards to commercial air
traffic, and then descended into these bumpy regions for direct
aircraft measurements. A better understanding of the forces that
lead to this potentially disastrous atmospheric condition will
help forecasters warn pilots to avoid areas where turbulence
could be forming. The G-IV also took measurements to help the
Office of Naval Research calibrate its polar-orbiting satellite,
and covered for Air Force Reserves aircraft based in Alaska for
several days when the WC-130s were not available to fly.
NOAA's Aircraft Operations
Center
The P-3s and G-IV are based at NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center
at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. AOC is part of the Office
of Marine and Aviation Operations, which includes civilians as
well as officers of the NOAA
Corps, the nation's smallest uniformed service. NOAA Corps
pilots and civilian flight engineers, meteorologists and electronic
engineers are highly trained to operate in adverse weather conditions.
Much of the scientific instrumentation
flown aboard NOAA aircraft is designed, built, assembled and
calibrated by AOC's Science and Engineering Division. During
non-hurricane season months, the P-3s and G-IV are tailored by
AOC engineers for use in Pacific winter storms and other severe
weather and atmospheric research programs, and flown by NOAA
Corps pilots world-wide in a variety of weather conditions.
For further information please visit our Web site at http://www.omao.noaa.gov/aoc
or contact Jeanne
Kouhestani, Office of
Marine and Aviation Operations public affairs, at (301) 713-3431,
ext. 220.
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Updated January 2002 |