NOAA Raising Hurricane Awareness

In an effort to raise public awareness of the Atlantic hurricane threat, NOAA National Hurricane Center Director Bill Proenza and Senior Hurricane Specialist Lixion Avila, Ph.D. will take "Hurricane Hunter" Hercules on a six-day, six-city tour of the Caribbean region.

As part of a joint US Air Force and NOAA National Weather Service, the public, school groups and media are invited to tour the aircraft and speak with Proenza, Avila and the "Hurricane Hunter" crew. The tour includes Mexico, Grand Cayman Island, Dominican Republic, St. Croix and Puerto Rico and will begin April 16.

"Even though we did not have a lot of activity last year, we remain in an active hurricane cycle and need to continue our preparation and planning efforts," said Proenza. "The focus of this tour is protecting communities through preparedness and awareness."

The "Hurricane Hunters" of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, use the latest Air Force Reserve WC-130J aircraft that was placed into operation in 2005.  The team gathers hurricane position and intensity data by flying directly into the storm then relaying vital information from the core of the hurricane to hurricane forecasters.

The WC-130 Hercules is a medium-range aircraft used for weather reconnaissance by the Air Force Reserve that is capable of more than 12 hours of sustained flight. To help it achieve this feat, it is equipped with two external 1,400-gallon fuel tanks as well as an internal 1,800-gallon fuel tank.

The Herculean team effort it takes to forecast and respond to a hurricane also includes weather observations from World Meteorological Organization countries, satellites, computer models, local weather forecast offices and dedicated meteorologists, according to NOAA.

"When one of these storms threatens landfall in this region, our Citizen Airmen are already gathering and providing the critical data used by the National Hurricane Center to inform local officials, civic leaders and emergency managers," said Brig. Gen. Richard Moss, commander of the 403rd Wing.

"Hurricane Hunters" will be adding a new piece of equipment this hurricane season: a Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer. This new generation airborne remote sensing instrument is designed for operational surface wind estimation in hurricanes. The SFMR is expected to provide even more data to forecasters at the NOAA National Hurricane Center to help improve the analysis of surface intensity and structure of the storm.

"Once the forecast is issued, people must heed the warnings of their local government officials," said Avila. "The time to prepare for a hurricane is now. Once the storm is bearing down, it is too late."

FMI: www.noaa.gov