Mission Summary
20020923N1 Aircraft 49RF
Synoptic Surveillance flight
around Hurricane Isidore 2002

Scientific Crew (49RF)

Sonde Scientist	Stan Goldenberg
Sonde Scientist	Sean White

The G-IV jet, with scientific crew of Stan Goldenberg and Sean White, is conducting an NHC-tasked synoptic surveillance mission around Hurricane Isidore at the nominal time of 12 UTC/September 23. Take-off time will be at 1:30 PM EDT from MacDill AFB and landing at 10:00 PM EDT at MacDill AFB, FL.

Mission Summary :

A phone call was made at 7:56 PM (EDT) to the Hurricane Specialist on Duty, Richard Pasch. The following important information was relayed :

1. There is strong instability north of the center.
2. There are weak easterlies over the Bahamas, northwesterlies at 400 mb, and the deep-layer mean is southwesterly.
3. The 400 mb col point is over the Florida Straits.
4. The cyclonic circulation is at the surface and 925 mb all the way to the Bahamas. The circulations seems tilted from 22°N 89°W a the surface to 21°N 91°W at 925 mb.
5. The deep-layer mean circulation covers most of the Gulf of Mexico.
6. The circulation extends up to 200 mb, so the anticyclone is displaced 700 km to the west of the center with another about 900 km to the northeast.
7. There is a strong outflow channel over the Bahamas at 200 mb to 300 mb.
8. The subtropical ridge axis in the Gulf of Mexico is at 25°N at 300 mb, 27°N at 400 mb, then tilting northward and downward.
9. The circulation covers the Gulf of Mexico from 500 mb downward.
10. There are many surface winds in the Gulf of Mexico to indentify the gale-force wind radius.

Problems :

1. SYNMAP does not work inside of EDITSONDE.
2. Both versions of SYNMAP should be the same, having DLM and 850 to 200 mb shear plots.

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