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TTUHRT featured in Live Science - Behind the Scenes
TTUHRT Participates in the Governor's Homeland Security and Hurricane Conference
March, 23-26 2009
TTUHRT instrumentation, including a StickNet trailer and TTU-Ka 1 Mobile radar were
on display in San Antonio as part of the Governor's Homeland Security and Hurricane Conference. TTUHRT director, Dr. John Schroeder also co-chaired a workshop on how hurricanes are measured and understanding the
limitations of the Safir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Also part of the Texas Tech exhibit was information on the West Texas Mesonet , the history of the Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team, a real-time display from a StickNet probe, and information on TTUHRT deployments during the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Lubbock's 3rd Annual Severe Weather Awareness Day - February 28th
TTUHRT instrumentation was on display as part of the Texas Tech Severe Storm Research Team during Lubbock's 3rd Annual Severe Weather Awareness Day. The event was the culmination
of severe weather awareness week in Lubbock and the South Plains and was sponsored by the Texas Tech student chapter of the American Meteorological Society, KCBD TV, Science Spectrum, and the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Lubbock.
The event was held on February 28th at the Science Spectrum from 11 am to 5 pm. There wereplenty of hands on activites for kids of all ages, "Weather 101" demonstrations, as well as storm chase vehicles and instrumentation from
Texas Tech's Severe Storm and Hurricane Research Team's, including the new TTUKA-1 mobile Doppler radar. Over 2000 people attended the event throughout the day.
TTUHRT Participates in the First Digital Hurricane Symposium
Jan 5-6, 2009
Photo of TTU Stick-Net Probes and graduate students Ian Giammanco and Brian Hirth fielding questions during the Digital Hurricane Symposium. The NOAA XP Mobile Radar is in the background
TTUHRT participated in the first Digital Hurricane Symposium hosted by Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge Louisiana. The symposium was focused on establishing
concentrated efforts to mitigate the effects of landfalling hurricanes through coordinated research efforts. Attendees represented a wide range of entities from Academia, Governement Laboratories, as well as the private sector. TTUHRT was 1 of several groups which
displayed their field instrumentation. Stick-Net trailer 2 as well as several probes were on display and TTU-Ka 1 was also on display during the symposium, which was open to
attendees as well as the general public. A photo gallery of the instrumentation display can be found HERE . The symposium was the first of its kind, bringing together many different disciplines
in order to help mitigate the effects of hurricanes on life and property through coordinated research. Sponsors of the event were Risk Management Solutions and Engensus Engineering Consulting
Probe 0110A Returned to Lubbock - 9 October 2008
Photo of probe 0110A on the grounds of Ft. Travis following Hurricane Ike. Photograph by Lee Lockwood and John Lee
Probe 0110A was returned to Lubbock by Ian Giammanco who retrieved the probe from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in League City, TX.
The probe was collected from its deployment site on the grounds of Ft. Travis at the western end of the Bolivar Peninsula by John Lee and Lee Lockwood of the Galveston County Office of Emergency
Management, approximately 2 weeks after Hurricane Ike. The probe was then taken to the National Weather Service office in League City where it was stored until TTUHRT field coordinator Ian Giammanco could retrieve it. The probe collected
a complete and uninterrupted data record through the duration of Ike, even after approximately 2 feet of storm surge effected the probe. The sea wall surrounding the Fort is approximately 17 feet tall with an additional two feet of elevation to the deployment site, thus suggesting a possible
storm surge height of twenty feet in that area. The probe measured a minimum pressure of 950.7 mb which was 3.7 mb lower than the official pressure at landfall given by the National
Hurricane Center. The maximum winds measured by the probe can be found on our data summary table located on our Hurricane Ike page and the data plot is now included in our Hurricane Ike data section.
United States Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) visits Texas Tech's Wind Science and Engineering Research Center
2 October 2008
US Senator John Cornyn speaking at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center.
United States Senator John Cornyn visited the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center's Reese campus. Senator Cornyn was able to meet with faculty and graduate students as well as touring
the facility. The senator's tour was led by TTUHRT Director and principal investigator Dr. John Schroeder. Senator Cornyn was also able to observe a debris impact test during his visit as well. The senator spoke briefly on the impact the center has had over the years in mitigating damage from
severe wind storms as well as the center's entry into Wind Power research. Senator Cornyn's visit was the first by a member of the Texas congressional delegation since
US Senator Kaye Bailey Hutchinson visited last fall to introduce Texas Tech's new doctoral degree program in Wind Science and Engineering.
TTU Stick-Net probe following Hurricane Ike east of Winnie, TX.
TTUHRT Deployed for Hurricane Ike's Landfall on the Texas Coast.
TTUHRT deployed the entire fleet of Stick-Net probes prior to the landfall of Hurricane Ike. This marked the
first time that all 24 probes have been deployed at one time. A fine scale array was used in Chambers County, TX in an attempt to sample the wind maximum associated with Ike. Probes were also deployed on Galveston Island and at Ft. Travis
on the extreme western end of the Bolivar Peninsula. The data summary table and data plots are available on our Hurricane Ike page.
Former TTUHRT Member Flys with NOAA Hurricane Hunters
July - 2008
TTU graduate Dr. Sylvie Lorsolo at the radar/dropwindsonde console onboard a NOAA P-3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Photo by Mike Black.
Former Atmospheric Science student Sylvie Lorsolo made her first flight with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters on July 22. Lorsolo made three flights
into Hurricane Dolly as the radar scientist onboard the NOAA P-3 aircraft. Dr. Lorsolo earned her PhD in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech in 2006. Her research focused
on using SMART-Radar data to document coherent turbulent structures in the hurricane boundary layer. She was a part of the TTUHRT SMART-Radar and tower deployment teams for Hurricane Isabel (2003) and Hurricane Frances (2004). Lorsolo, a native of Martinque, is a research scientist at the University of Miami and NOAA Hurricane Research Division.
Hurricane Dolly - 23 July 2008
Click HERE for our Hurricane Dolly page.
KBRO WSR-88D Radar image and Stick-Net deployment locations. Click image for full size view. Image courtesy of Ian Giammanco
TTUHRT deployed for category 2 Hurricane Dolly. This was the first ever deployment of Stick-Net platforms into the tropical cyclone environment. The deployment of the Stick-Net probes drastically increased
the number of observations from the landfall region. The platforms performed admirably and hopefully will lead into a new era of observations of landfalling tropical cyclones.
Click HERE for KBRO WSR-88D radar loop (.GIF) of Hurricane Dolly at landfall.
TTUHRT is dedicated to mitigating the effects of landfalling hurricanes on life and property
