2021 Hurricane Field Program Flight Logs

Flight Logs

2021 Hurricane Field Program

AL05 / Elsa

Mission Summary 20210702H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0205A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1431 Z

Landing time

2049 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

6.3 hours

Block Tine

6.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
16/15/15

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood, Hazelton

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Legidakes, Rannenberg, Copare

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez

Flight Director(s)

Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 C. Lynch

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210702H1
Flight Plan 20210702H1 mission track
Expendable Distribution Dropsondes released at the endpoint and midpoint of each leg, as well as at the center of each pass.
Preflight Weather Briefing Elsa has intensified to a minimal, 65-kt hurricane as the storm surprisingly gained organization overnight, showing extensive banding and even perhaps a developing partial eyewall that, as of the pre-flight brief, is located in very close proximity to Barbados. The storm is still embedded in strong easterly flow, which is contributing to the fairly fast propagation speed of WNW at 24 kt, but also the stronger winds located on the north side of the storm. The international airport at Barbados reported 67 kt gusts this morning.

The storm is expected to maintain it’s fast WNW trajectory into the Caribbean, skirting Hispaniola and Cuba before passing over Cuba to the north, into the eastern Gulf. NHC expects it to maintain hurricane intensity while in the Caribbean.

The plan calls for a butterfly pattern flown at a pressure altitude of 10,000 ft. It’s likely that 42 will need to fly an official fix for NHC for 1730Z, which will also be flown at 10 kft. We’ve requested a fix on each pass.

Instrument Notes There were issues with the IWG (flight level) datastream on the ferry flight yesterday, and a solution was applied today to correct that issue. The Compact Raman Lidar is not operational, and the WSRA and cloud physics probes are not yet installed. THOR is installed and operational.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210702H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210702H1

Mission Summary 20210703H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0605A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Figure-4

Takeoff time

1538 Z

Landing time

2242 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.0 hours

Block Tine

7.3 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
18/17/17

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Reasor, Fischer

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood, Aberson

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitbol, Shaw, Stateler

Navigator(s)

 Urato

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Heysteck

Flight Director(s)

 Parrish, Hathaway

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210703H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210703H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210703H1

Mission Summary 20210704H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0905A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

NHC/EMC

Planned pattern

Figure-4

Takeoff time

0828 Z

Landing time

1623 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

8.0 hours

Block Tine

8.2 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
14/13/13

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood, Aberson

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Legidakes, Rannenberg, Copare

Navigator(s)

 Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 C. Lynch

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210704H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210704H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210704H1

Mission Summary 20210705H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1105A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

NHC/EMC

Planned pattern

Figure-4

Takeoff time

0853 Z

Landing time

1545 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

6.9 hours

Block Tine

7.1 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
11/11/11

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood, Aberson

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Legidakes, Rannenberg, Copare

Navigator(s)

 Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 C. Lynch

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210705H1
Flight Plan
Expendable Distribution Dropsondes released at the endpoint and midpoint of each leg, as well as at the center of each pass.
Preflight Weather Briefing Elsa’s intensity is 55 kt and it’s still fairly disorganized.  NHC’s 0300 UTC advisory did note overnight convective bursts and the occasional appearance of an eye-like feature on the Cuban radars. The storm is moving 310/13 kt and should continue a NW motion with a gradual shift to the N as it rounds the western periphery of a deep layer ridge.  WNW vertical wind shear (17 kt in SHIPS) continues to affect the system, though CIMSS shear analyses does indicate that there is a marked E-W gradient in the shear pattern with lower shear on the W side and higher shear on the E side. AOC did get clearance to overfly Cuba, so we will adjust the IP to be NW of the center and will adjust the rest of the pattern on the fly early in the mission. A 105 nm IP is over Cuba, so we’ll plan to drop the 1st sonde a bit early N of the Cuban coast..
Instrument Notes The Compact Raman Lidar (CRL) is not operational, and the WSRA and Cloud Physics probes are not yet installed. THOR is installed but not operational due to a failure of one of the components on the instrument.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210705H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210705H1

AL06 / Fred

Mission Summary 20210810I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0106A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

NHC

Planned pattern

Alpha

Takeoff time

0839 Z

Landing time

1645 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

8.3 hours

Block Tine

8.1 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
3/3/3

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

  • Reconnaissance

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Marks

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion

Radar Scientist(s)

 Marks

Radar Scientist(s)

 Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Wadler

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang, Jelenak

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitol, Stateler, Shaw

Navigator(s)

 Brian Richards

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry, Hathaway

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210810I1

Flight Plan

NHC alpha pattern followed by a box pattern or additional legs to attempt to close of a low-level circulation (if none was found during the initial alpha)

Expendable Distribution

Dropsondes released at the center center of each pass if a well-defined circulation is found. 3 additional sondes during the ferry to the IP to sample gradients associated with the SAL.

Preflight Weather Briefing

[Notes from the Flight Crew Preflight Briefing and other relevant notes about the current and forecasted storm state for the flight]

Instrument Notes

No microphysics probes onboard 43. All other instruments operating normally.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210810I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210810I1

Mission Summary 20210811I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0306A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0837 Z

Landing time

1557 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.3 hours

Block Tine

7.5 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/0 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
17/16/12

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Marks

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Radar Scientist(s)

 Marks

Radar Scientist(s)

 Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Wadler

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang, Jelenak

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitol, Sateher

Navigator(s)

 Shaw

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry, Hathaway

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Deadhead(s)

Stokes, Kregelka

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210811I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210811I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210811I1

Mission Summary 20210811H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0406A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/NHC

Planned pattern

Alpha

Takeoff time

1946 Z

Landing time

0315 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.5 hours

Block Tine

7.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
22/20/20

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

Rogers

Radar Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Radar Scientist(s)

 Gamache, Alvey

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Rannenberg, Copare

Navigator(s)

 Urato

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Underwood

AVAPS Tech(s)

 

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210811H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210811H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210811H1

Mission Summary 20210812H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0506A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/NHC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0805 Z

Landing time

1448 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

6.7 hours

Block Tine

7.0 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
14/14/14

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Marks

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

 Wadler

Radar Scientist(s)

 Fischer, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitol, Stateler, Shaw

Navigator(s)

Brian Richard, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry, Hataway

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210812H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210812H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210812H1

Mission Summary 20210812H2

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0706A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/NWS

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

2004 Z

Landing time

0119 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

5.3 hours

Block Tine

5.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
11/10/10

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

Rogers

Radar Scientist(s)

Sellwood

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Alvey

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Rannenberg, Copare

Navigator(s)

Urato

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210812H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210812H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210812H1

Mission Summary 20210813H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0906A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/NHC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0807 Z

Landing time

1248 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

4.7 hours

Block Tine

4.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
11/11/11

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Aberson

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion, Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

 Aberson

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Xuejin Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitol, Stateler, Shaw

Navigator(s)

Brian Richard, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry, Hataway

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke, Greene

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210812H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210812H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210812H1

AL07 / Grace

Mission Summary 20210814I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0107A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

NHC

Planned pattern

Alpha

Takeoff time

1442 Z

Landing time

2108 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

6.5 hours

Block Tine

6.7 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
7/7/7

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Ranneneberg, Copare, Legidakes

Navigator(s)

 Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210814I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Mission Summary 20210814N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WA07A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Lawnmower + Figure 4

Takeoff time

1634 Z

Landing time

0018 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

7.7 hours

Block Tine

7.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
36/33/33

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Alaka

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Hwnning

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Waddington, De Triquet

Navigator(s)

 

Flight Engineer(s)

 

Flight Director(s)

Kalen, Henning

Data Technician(s)

 Miller

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Patel

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210814N1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210814N1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210814N1

Mission Summary 20210815I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0207A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

NHC

Planned pattern

Alpha

Takeoff time

1553 Z

Landing time

2031 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

4.6 hours

Block Tine

4.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
4/4/4

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Ranneneberg, Copare, Legidakes

Navigator(s)

 Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210814I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Mission Summary 20210815N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WB07A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Circumnav + Figure 4

Takeoff time

1505 Z

Landing time

2121 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Aruba

Flight Time

6.3 hours

Block Tine

6.5 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
5/5 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
32/27/27

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

Hwnning

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Waddington, De Triquet

Navigator(s)

 

Flight Engineer(s)

 

Flight Director(s)

Kalen, Henning

Data Technician(s)

 Miller

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Patel

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210814N1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210814N1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210814N1

Mission Summary 20210816H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0507A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Figure 4

Takeoff time

0753 Z

Landing time

1527 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.6 hours

Block Tine

7.8 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
14/12/12

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Aberson

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Aberson

Radar Scientist(s)

Fischer, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Aberson

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitbol, Shaw, Stateler

Navigator(s)

 Utama, Brian Richards

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210814I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210814I1

Mission Summary 20210817H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0807A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0757 Z

Landing time

1514 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.3 hours

Block Tine

7.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
14/14/14

Ocean Expendables

0

sUAS

0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

  • Tail Doppler Radar

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Aberson

Lead Scientist(s)

Wadler

Radar Scientist(s)

Aberson

Radar Scientist(s)

Fischer, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Dunion

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitbol, Shaw, Stateler

Navigator(s)

 Utama, Brian Richards

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes. Greene

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210817H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210817H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210817H1

Mission Summary 20210817I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1007A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1953 Z

Landing time

0337 Z

Takeoff Location

Aruba

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.7 hours

Block Tine

8.3 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
30/24/24

Ocean Expendables 

3 AXBTs

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

Alaka

Radar Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Alvey, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Ranneneberg, Copare, Legidakes

Navigator(s)

 Freeman, Urato

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210817I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210817I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210817I1

Mission Summary 20210818I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1207A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0813 Z

Landing time

1526 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.2 hours

Block Tine

7.5 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/2.5 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
17/16/13

Ocean Expendables 

2 ALAMOs

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Aberson

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

Aberson

Radar Scientist(s)

Fischer, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

Sonde Scientist(s)

Dunion, Jun Zhang

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Abitbol, Stateler, Shaw

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes, Greene

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210818I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210818I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210818I1

Mission Summary 20210818H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1407A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1954 Z

Landing time

0217 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

6.4 hours

Block Tine

6.7 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
26/25/25

Ocean Expendables 

5 NRL AXBTs/3 Good

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Radar Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Alvey, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Ranneneberg, Copare, Legidakes

Navigator(s)

 Freeman, Hough

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210818H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210818H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210818H1

Mission Summary 20210819H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1607A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1957 Z

Landing time

0230 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

6.5 hours

Block Tine

6.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
19/19/19

Ocean Expendables 

3 ONR AXBTs/2 Good

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Radar Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Alvey, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Sellwood

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Ranneneberg, Copare, Legidakes

Navigator(s)

 Freeman, Hough

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210819H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210819H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210819H1

AL08 / Henri

Mission Summary 20210820H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0608A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

2003 Z

Landing time

0232 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

6.5 hours

Block Tine

6.8 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
22/20/20

Ocean Expendables 

7 NRL AXBTs/6 good

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

 Alvey, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

None 

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Copare, Legidakes, Doremus

Navigator(s)

 Freeman, Hough

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Wysinger

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210820H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210820H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210820H1

Mission Summary 20210821H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0908A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

0757 Z

Landing time

1540 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

7.7 hours

Block Tine

8.0 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
19/19/19

Ocean Expendables 

6 AXBTs/4 good/1 partial/1 bad

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Aberson

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Aberson

Radar Scientist(s)

Fischer, Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

None 

Sonde Scientist(s)

Jun Zhang, Dunion

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Rossi, Shaw, Keith

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Lundry

Data Technician(s)

Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 S. Paul

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210821H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210821H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210821H1

Mission Summary 20210821H2

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1208A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1942 Z

Landing time

0452 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

9.2 hours

Block Tine

9.4 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
21/21/21

Ocean Expendables 

7 ONR AXBTs/7 good

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

 Alvey, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

None 

Sonde Scientist(s)

Sellwood

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None 

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Copare, Legidakes, Doremus

Navigator(s)

 Freeman, Hough

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Greene

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Underwood

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210821H2
Flight Plan The above is the planned butterfly pattern that will be flown at 8 kft, as the Air Force (Teal) aircraft will be at 10 kft, Below is the pattern with the details of the ONR TCRI requests for AXBTs and dropsondes, in addition to the planned EMC drop locations:

In addition to the planned pattern, ONR TCRI would like to fly, in coordination with APHEX, a Gravity Wave Module at the completion of the EMC pattern.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210821H2

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210821H2

AL09 / Ida

Mission Summary 20210827I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0309A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Figure 4

Takeoff time

0747 Z

Landing time

1549 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

8.0 hours

Block Tine

8.3 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
28/27/27

Ocean Expendables 

5 ONR AXBTx

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Alaka

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

 Alaka

Radar Scientist(s)

 Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Hazelton

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mitchell, Doremus, Copare

Navigator(s)

 Hough, Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

 Darby, Greene

Flight Director(s)

 Carpenter

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210827I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210827I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210827I1

Mission Summary 20210827H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WA09A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

HRD/ONR

Planned pattern

Figure 4

Takeoff time

0747 Z

Landing time

1549 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

8.3 hours

Block Tine

8.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
25/25/25

Ocean Expendables 

5 ONR AXBTx

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Early Stage Experiments:

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Rogers

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Rogers

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache, Alvey

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Jun Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Rossi, Shaw, Keith

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

McAllister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210827I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210827I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210827I1

AL12 / Larry

Mission Summary 20210905N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WA12A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Survey & Circumnav

Takeoff time

0851 Z

Landing time

1604 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

7.2 hours

Block Tine

7.4 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
38/36/36

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion, O’Neill, Wing

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

 Reasor, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Parrish

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mansour, Varwig

Navigator(s)

None

Flight Engineer(s)

None

Flight Director(s)

 Kalen, Parrish

Data Technician(s)

 DeFeo

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Greene

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210905N1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210905N1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210905N1

Lead Scientist Log

NOAA / AOML / Hurricane Research Division

Hurricane Field Program

Advancing the Prediction of Hurricanes Experiment (APHEX)

FLIGHT LOG – 20210906I1


 


Contents
Pre-Flight In-Flight Post-Flight

 


 

MISSION PLAN

FLIGHT ID

20210906I1

STORM

AL12 / LARRY

MISSION ID

WB12A

TAIL NUMBER

NOAA43

TASKING

HRD

PLANNED PATTERN

Butterfly

MISSION SUMMARY

TAKEOFF [UTC]

1447

LANDING [UTC]

2330

TAKEOFF LOCATION

St. Croix

LANDING LOCATION

St. Croix

FLIGHT TIME

8.7

BLOCK TIME

8.9

TOTAL REAL-TIME RADAR ANALYSES

(Transmitted)

3 (3)

TOTAL DROPSONDES (Good/Transmitted)

21 (20/20)

OCEAN EXPENDABLES (Type)

 8 ONR AXBT, 2 AOML/PhOD ALAMO

sUAS (Type)

None

APHEX EXPERIMENTS / MODULES

Mature Stage Experiment: Eye-eyewall Mixing; Ocean Observing: Sustained and Targeted Ocean Observations

HRD CREW MANIFEST

LPS ONBOARD

Holbach

LPS GROUND

Wadler

TDR ONBOARD

Holbach

TDR GROUND

Gamache

ASPEN ONBOARD

Hazelton

ASPEN GROUND

None

NESDIS SCIENTISTS

Chang, Jelenak, Sapp

GUESTS (Affiliation)

None

AOC CREW MANIFEST

PILOTS

 Didier, Copare, Stateler

NAVIGATOR

Hough, Richards

FLIGHT ENGINEERS

Darby, Bennet

FLIGHT DIRECTOR

Holmes

DATA TECHNICIAN

Mascaro

AVAPS

Warnecke

 


PRE-FLIGHT

Flight Plan

Plan is to target the Eye-eyewall Mixing Module for either the second or third pass, if time allows. Plan would be to fly upwind around the eye to get more radar scans since we would be flying a little slower

Expendable Distribution

Flight plan described in previous section. In addition, fixes each pass and NHC also requested RMW sondes in the NE and NW.

Preflight Weather Briefing

From NHC discussion: “Larry currently has an annular structure, with a 60 n-mi diameter eye and a relatively thick eyewall.  High-resolution visible imagery shows several meso-vortices rotating within the eye, which is

typically observed in strong hurricanes.  The upper-level outflow

has become better defined over the western portion of the

circulation, indicative of decreased shear in comparison to

yesterday. The advisory intensity is kept at 105 kt, in reasonable

agreement with the latest Dvorak estimates from TAFB and SAB.”

Current satellite imagery:

Instrument Notes

[Notes about instrument status prior to the mission]

 


IN-FLIGHT

Time [UTC]

Event

1448

Takeoff from St. Croix

1513

En route to Larry…

1618

Data comms issues. Everyone on N43 logged off of x-chat. Also, no flight-level wind data showing up in MTS

1630

Comms is back. Heather reported that they can see some pretty decent swells propagating towards us (outward from Larry)

1644

Crew reported that they can see the curvature in the outer banding as we’re approaching the outer edge of Larry

1654

Started descent

1659

Quite a few visuals of whitecaps before starting the pattern. SFMR reports ~24 m/s

1703

Starting pattern at 10 kft. Combo drop 1 out. SST is 27.5°C which was questioned by the flight crew. It is possible since the storm is near a SST gradient

1709

Heading towards the eye

1718

Sonde 2, Midpoint inbound pass 1 (2nd sonde)

1722

Penetration through the eyewall reported different. Not as defined as usual

1725

Hunting the center in the eye (marked at 1326)

 Gamache gave center fix for radar analyses: 172607, 22.06N, 53.45W

1726

Center sonde, pressure of 957.5 mb (3rd sonde)

1731

Echo tops are only showing to ~ 5-6 km on the edge of the scans (as going into northern eyewall)

1738

Heather reported much broader area of moderate precip on the N side

1744

Midpoint outbound sonde. Leg 1 (4th sonde)

1754

EP combo drop out (5th sonde), 28.31°C SST. Interesting comparison to SHIPS which has 28.8°C, though there might be a gradient with higher SSTs ahead of storm motion

1821

1st ALAMO float released

1831

2nd ALAMO float released

Radar analyses from 1st pass

1853

Combo sonde, inbound pass 2 (sonde 6)

1905

MP sonde inbound pass 2 (sonde 7)

1912

RMW sonde inbound pass 2 (sonde 8, NW eyewall)

Once we were inside the reflectivity eye, we hit our worst turbulence of the flight. They wonder if that was one of our mesovortices

1918

Center sonde (sonde 9)

1933

Midpoint sonde outbound pass 2 (sonde 10)

1940

Close overlap between P-3 and G-IV

Snapshot from tidbits to highlight the “bounce” the aircraft took during the pass (bottom right plot)

1945

EP combo sonde pass 2 (sonde 11) (26.92°C SST)

Last hour of vertical velocities. Very turbulent on the outbound of the previous pass

1959

Midpoint sonde on downwind leg (sonde 12)

2011

Initial point (IP) combo drop pass 3 (27.96°SST) – sonde died (sonde 13)

2015

Backup IP sonde (sonde 14)

2023

Midpoint sonde Inbound leg 3 (sonde 15)

2028

RMW sonde inbound leg 3, NW eyewall (sonde 16)

2036

Center sonde (sonde 17)

2039

Begin Eye-eyewall Mixing Module. Circling eye clockwise

2053

Image captured orbiting the eye

2107

Sonde (#18)  in mesovortex for Eye-eyewall Mixing Module. Visible imagery is fading, so hard to see where it was

2116

RMW sonde outbound pass 3 (SW eyewall) (sonde 19)

2122

Midpoint sonde outbound pass 3 (sonde 20)

2136

Endpoint combo sonde (sonde 21)

Updated satellite loops at the end of mission

KAIA Significant Wave Height from mission

 


POST-FLIGHT

Mission Summary

This was a highly successful mission. A butterfly pattern was flown with two ALAMO floats released ahead of the motion after the 1st pass through the center. On the third pass, an Eye-Eyewall Mixing Module was flown which consisted of a clockwise circumnavigation of the eye and a dropsonde in a potential mesovortex. In addition to the standard pattern, three RMW sondes were launched and a center fix was made for each pass for NHC.

The radar data was used for the 5 PM ET NHC forecast discussion to discuss surface winds, which we believe is a first. “During that pass through the hurricane, the aircraft tail Doppler radar measured winds of 121 kt at a height of 3 km in the northeastern eyewall, which equate to

about 109 kt at the surface. Therefore, the initial intensity has

been adjusted up to 110 kt for this advisory. A pair of dropsondes

into the eye of Larry measured a minimum central pressure of 956 mb.”

21 total dropsondes were released (14 for EMC, 2 for NHC, 4 for HRD, 1 for ONR), as well as 2 AOML/PhOD ALAMO floats (both failed) and 8 NRL AXBTs (1 bad)

Actual Standard Pattern Flown

Butterfly + Eye-eyewall Mixing Module

APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown

Released 2 AOML PhOD ALAMO floats ahead of storm motion, part of the Ocean Observing Experiment: Targeted and Sustained Ocean Observations and flew an Eye-eyewall Mixing Module, part of the Mature Stage Experiment; mission flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI.

Plain Language Summary

  • A highly successful research mission which collected radar data, temperature, humidity and wind speed data from dropsondes.  
  • We worked collaboratively with the National Hurricane Center to meet both of our goals
  • We released two ocean sensors ahead of the storm to understand how the ocean evolves underneath the storm
  • We flew a circle inside the eye to understand how the eye and violent eyewall interact with each other

Instrument Notes

An issue with the MMR on N43. The Flight Director said that the one on N43 is worse than on N42. Surface roughness field is ok, but HWX and NAW are bad — lower than expected reflectivity on the MMR.


Final Mission Track


Mission Flight Data


NetCDF file |
One second data |
Flight Manifest |
Flight Director’s Log |
Dropsonde log

Mission Summary 20210906I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WB12A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1447 Z

Landing time

2330 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

8.7 hours

Block Tine

8.9 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
21/20/20

Ocean Expendables 

  • 8 ONR AXBTs
  • 2 ALAMO floats

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Lead Scientist(s)

Wadler

Radar Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang, Jelenak, Sapp

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Copare, Stateler

Navigator(s)

Hough, Brian Richards

Flight Engineer(s)

Darby, Bennet

Flight Director(s)

 Holmes

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210906I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210906I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210906I1

Mission Summary 20210906N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WC12A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Survey & Circumnav

Takeoff time

1545 Z

Landing time

2253 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

6.6 hours

Block Tine

6.8 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
35/35/35

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion, O’Neill, Wing

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

 Reasor, Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Parrish

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mansour, Varwig

Navigator(s)

None

Flight Engineer(s)

None

Flight Director(s)

 Kalen, Parrish

Data Technician(s)

 DeFeo

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Greene

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210906N1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210906N1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210906N1

Mission Summary 20210907I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WC12A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

NESDIS

Planned pattern

Alpha

Takeoff time

1709 Z

Landing time

0108 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

8.0 hours

Block Tine

8.2 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
5/4/4

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang, Jelenak, Sapp

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Copare, Stateler

Navigator(s)

Hough, Brian Richards

Flight Engineer(s)

Darby, Bennet

Flight Director(s)

 Holmes

Data Technician(s)

 Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210907I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210907I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210907I1

Mission Summary 20210907N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WD12A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Star & Circumnav

Takeoff time

1442 Z

Landing time

2155 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

7.2 hours

Block Tine

7.4 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
35/33/33

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

Dunion

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

 Parrish

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Mansour, Varwig

Navigator(s)

None

Flight Engineer(s)

None

Flight Director(s)

 Kalen, Parrish

Data Technician(s)

 DeFeo

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Greene

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210907N1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210907N1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210907N1

AL18 / SAM

Mission Summary 20210925N1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WA18A

Aircraft

NOAA49

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

GIV Circumnav

Takeoff time

1824 Z

Landing time

0150 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

7.4 hours

Block Tine

7.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
32/29/29

Ocean Expendables 

0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Lead Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

None

Radar Scientist(s)

Reasor

Sonde Scientist(s)

Flaherty

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Norman, de Triquet

Navigator(s)

 None

Flight Engineer(s)

 None

Flight Director(s)

Paul Flaherty, Kalen

Data Technician(s)

 Gabe Defeo

AVAPS Tech(s)

 Patel

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210925N1
Flight Plan Double circumnavigation (one at 80 n mi and the other at 150 n mi)
Expendable Distribution Dropsonde releases at all of the green dots in the above flight track
Preflight Weather Briefing As of the 2 PM EDT NHC advisory, Hurricane Sam is located near 12.9N / 47.6W, has an estimated max sustained winds of 105 kt, MSLP of 960 mb, and is moving west-northwest at 9 kt. Over the past 24 hours, Sam has continued to rapidly intensify. The inner core continues to gain symmetry as it is no longer somewhat constricted on the west side of the storm and there is a complete ring of deep convection around the center. The eye has also been progressively clearing over the past few hours. It’s possible the storm is continuing to intensify, though this mission will collect the first in-situ data from the center of the storm.
Instrument Notes None

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210927H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210927H1
Mission Summary We successfully flew a rotated figure-4 pattern along with a microphysics spiral module on the east side of the storm south of Cuba and a convective burst module during the third leg on the N side of Cuba.  Throughout the flight, we sampled the storm before making landfall on the south coast of Cuba, while it was over Cuba, and after it emerged off the north coast of Cuba.  The evolution of the structure throughout this flight was quite interesting as the interactions with Cuba seemed to disrupt the low level circulation, but the convection and upper levels seemed to be maintained well enough that it did not hinder the storm’s evolution significantly.  The 0300 UTC NHC advisory had Ida at a minimum SLP of 989 mb and max sustained winds of 70 kts.

IR imagery throughout the flight showed the CDO collapse on the north side as Ida approached Cuba and began to redevelop as it crossed over Cuba.

Another interesting observation is that in all of the TDR analyses, the strongest inflow was depicted as occurring on the north side of the circulation.  However, I wonder if this could be an artifact of land in the TDR data.

Final plot of HDOBs:

Expendables deployed: 25 dropsondes (10 HRD, 15 ONR); 5 NRL AXBTs

Actual Standard Pattern Flown Rotated Figure-4
APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown Early Stage Experiment: AIPEX; Early Stage Experiment: Convective Burst Structure and Evolution Module; Early Stage Experiment: Stratiform Spiral Module; was flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI
Plain Language Summary
  • This mission collected observations that spanned Ida’s approach to the southern coast of Cuba all the way until it emerged off the northern coast of Cuba.
  • We collected data about the vertical precipitation distribution on the east side of the storm
  • We sampled a newly forming region of thunderstorms on the north side of Cuba as Ida was coming offshore to see how this new region would impact the eyewall development.
Instrument Notes Several issues with data transmission, especially during the second half of the flight.  We also had problems with the TDR radarsync throughout the flight.
Final Mission Track

Mission Summary 20210925H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WB18A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

HRD/ONR/TCRI

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1848 Z

Landing time

0311 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

8.4 hours

Block Tine

8.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
34/31/31

Ocean Expendables 

8 ONR AXBT
2 Navy ALAMO

sUAS 

None

Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

J. Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Legidakes, Keith, Rannenberg

Navigator(s)

Hough, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

Sanchez, Levine

Flight Director(s)

Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

McAllister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210925H1

Flight Plan

The planned pattern is for a 70 nmi butterfly with a brief module northwest of the storm to release 2 Navy ALAMO floats (at a location 24 hours in advance of the passage of the storm center track). Altitude in pattern and for ALAMO releases will be 10 kft.

Expendable Distribution

Dropsondes to be released at the endpoints (EMC), midpoints (EMC), center (EMC), and RMWs on each inbound and outbound (6 charged to EMC, the remainder to ONR TCRI). Another sonde will be released in combo with an ONR AXBT between the ALAMO releases. ONR AXBTs will be released at each endpoint, once in the center (if possible), and once between the 2 Navy ALAMO releases.

Preflight Weather Briefing

As of the 2 PM EDT NHC advisory, Hurricane Sam is located near 12.9N / 47.6W, has an estimated max sustained winds of 105 kt, MSLP of 960 mb, and is moving west-northwest at 9 kt. Over the past 24 hours, Sam has continued to rapidly intensify. The inner core continues to gain symmetry as it is no longer somewhat constricted on the west side of the storm and there is a complete ring of deep convection around the center. The eye has also been progressively clearing over the past few hours. It’s possible the storm is continuing to intensify, though this mission will collect the first in-situ data from the center of the storm. The environment remains very favorable for rapid intensification, with possibly only a slight cool ocean eddy and eyewall replacement cycles being the limiting factor for further intensification today.

Instrument Notes

None notable

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210925H1

Time [UTC]

Event

1848

Takeoff from St. Croix

2057

Potential fortuitous Aeolus overpass validation as Aeolus will be passing just west of the storm at 2121Z. The G-IV dropsondes on the W and SW side of the inner circumnav will be after the satellite passes overhead by 45 min – 1 hour, but will be in the footprint of the satellite.

2105

Will attempt to work in an Aeolus validation sonde near 50.5W on their ferry, which would be released just inside 125 nmi from the Aeolus footprint about 15 min after the satellite comes over head:

2121

ADM-Aeolus passed the storm (green cross in screenshot)

2130

In the 5 PM EDT advisory, NHC upgraded Sam to 120 kt, 943 mb, and is located near 13.3N/48.5W.

2135

Sonde #1 [HRD1] released for ADM-Aeolus validation just inside of the 125 nmi edge of the descending footprint of the satellite. Still with thinnish cirrus overhead before getting under the thicker dense overcast. Screenshot below near time of release…

2143

Descending to get to IP to do first inbound from the west

2149

Combo drop / Arrive at IP / Released ahead of convective line (Sonde #2 [EMC1], ONR AXBT #1). SST 28.5 sfc 17 kts dir 025

2201

SMRF values look suspect

2159

West mid pt drop (Sonde #3 [EMC2])

2204

First RMW W (Sonde #4 [EMC3])

2206

Second RMW W (Sonde #5 [ONR1])

2207

Third RMW W (Sonde #6 [ONR2])

2207

Center Combo (Sonde #7 [EMC4]; ONR AXBT #2). No SST from center BT.

2209

As expected, very tight wind gradient!

2209

First RMW E (Sonde #8 [EMC5])

2210

Second RMW E (Sonde #9 [ONR3])

2215

East mid pt drop (Sonde #10 [EMC6])

2221

Extrapolated MSLP was 942 mb and the 10-sec SFMR winds peak outbound were 133 kt, although there was an instantaneous measurement of 140 kt. Center sonde splash at 945 with 9 kt of wind.

2223

Endpoint east (Sonde #11 [EMC7]; ONR AXBT #3). SST 27.8C

2227

A look at the first pass as the G-IV arrives into the inner circumnavigation

2237

New points for the Navy ALAMO releases: 14.66N / 50.73W and 14.15N / 51.05W

2245

The G-IV and P-3 are right on top of one another as the P-3 heads inbound to the center from the NE and the G-IV is on the northern portion of its inner circumnav.

2242

IP northeast (Sonde #12 [EMC8]; ONR AXBT #4). SST 27.9C

2251

Northeast mid pt (Sonde #13 [EMC9]) — No launch detect, but there are data that can be reprocessed

2255

A look at the MMR inbound from the west on the first pass. Reports from the plane were significant turbulence outbound with graupel. Lots of lightning, as well, so pretty significant convection as seen in the satellite imagery below from the first pass.

2257

First RMW NE (Sonde #14 [EMC10]), Second RMW NE (Sonde #15 [ONR4]), Third RMW NE (Sonde #16 [ONR5])

2259

Center #2 (Sonde #17 [EMC11])

2301

First RMW SW (Sonde #18 [EMC12]), Second RMW SW (Sonde #19 [ONR6]), Third RMW SW (Sonde #20 [ONR7])

2307

A look at the 2nd pass of the center from NE to SW

2308

SW midpoint (Sonde #21 [EMC13])

2312

The maximum inbound surface wind was 136 kt! Still extrapolated MSLP of 942 mb.

2322

Circling to give AVAPS a moment to reset

2323

SW endpoint combo (Sonde #22 [EMC14]; ONR AXBT #5)

2330

P-3 now downwind headed towards its last pass as the G-IV is on the SW side in close vicinity to the P-3 as it nears completion of the inner circumnav.

2333

Looks like the storm has about a 7-8 n mi RMW

2337

G-IV has completed the inner circumnav as the P-3 heads downwind for its final pass.

2340

SE IP (Sonde #23 [EMC15]; ONR AXBT #6)

2349

SE midpoint (Sonde #24 [EMC16])

2355-2356

First RMW SE (Sonde #25 [EMC17]), Second RMW SE (Sonde #26 [ONR8]), Third RMW SE (Sonde #27 [ONR9])

2357

Center #3 (Sonde #28 [EMC18])

2358

First RMW NW (Sonde #29 [EMC19]), Second RMW NW (Sonde #30 [ONR10]), Third RMW NW (Sonde #31 [ONR11])

0002

A look at the third and final pass of the center as reports from the P-3 were that they once again hit graupel. There has been plenty of inner core lightning during the flight.

0005

NW midpoint (Sonde #32 [EMC20]), at the edge of the precip shield

0012

The P-3 has completed the butterfly pattern and is now headed towards the ALAMO and AXBT deployments.

0012

NW Endpoint (Sonde #33 [EMC21]; ONR AXBT #7)

0031

Navy ALAMO 1 out — ​​14 39.9’N 50 43.6’W, true air speed (TAS) 250 kt, FL wind 30 kt

Test screenshot upload from Karma — it worked!

0035

Between ALAMO releases, Sonde #34 [ONR12]; ONR AXBT #8

0038

Navy ALAMO 2 out — 14 8.0’N 51 3.6’W, TAS 251 kt, FL wind 27 kt

0039

Pattern complete:

The final satellite loops encompassing the mission:

And the final TDR composites from the mission:

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210925H1

Mission Summary

This flight perhaps captured the end of what has been a very impressive period of rapid intensification for Sam as the MSLP was consistently 943-945 mb. The peak surface winds were up above 140 kt (observed on the NE inbound and NW outbound), with some impressive dropsondes showing up to nearly 200 kt winds at 900 mb, and 162 kt surface winds in a SE eyewall sonde that translated to the NE quadrant. Convection was vigorous throughout the mission, with plenty of inner core lightning and graupel and turbulence reported by the crew. Dry air appears to be ~40 n mi outside of the core in the northwest quadrant which could be limiting convection.  The mission successfully dropped almost all planned sondes, all planned ONR AXBTs, and the two Navy ALAMO floats, meeting all of the APHEX-AIPEX and ONR TCRI goals. An additional ADM-Aeolus validation module was planned on the fly as Aeolus passed just west of the storm around 2121Z; an improvised sonde was released from the P-3 at 2135Z in the Aeolus footprint, about 15 min after its passage.

34 total dropsondes released (31 of them good and transmitted; 21 charged to NWS, 12 charged to ONR, and 1 charged to HRD)

8 ONR AXBTs released; all good

2 Navy ALAMO floats deployed

Actual Standard Pattern Flown

Butterfly with 70 n mi radial legs at 10 kft

APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown

Ocean Observing: Sustained and Targeted Observations; Satellite Validation: ADM-Aeolus; flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI

Plain Language Summary

  • This mission observed the latter stages of an impressive rapid intensification period that Sam has been experiencing over the last day.
  • Observations taken from the flight will support research into how the ocean and atmosphere work together to intensify hurricanes rapidly.

Instrument Notes

  • WSRA was sending suspect data, believed to be caused by a software update.
  • SFMR appeared “stuck” at 7 m/s but once winds increased, began giving more reasonable measurements.  Unit has been recently recalibrated.
  • CRL shut down automatically, likely during the first pass when we encountered strong turbulence.  Switched back on for the transit, but probably missed the majority of the storm.
  • TDR radarsync failed three times on the last jobfile (and then worked!)

Final Mission Track

P3 track

P3 + G-IV tracks

Mission Summary 20210926H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0218A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/ONR/TCRI

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1942 Z

Landing time

0414 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

8.1 hours

Block Tine

8.5 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
34/34/34

Ocean Expendables 

None

sUAS 

None

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

J. Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Legidakes, Keith, Rannenberg

Navigator(s)

Hough, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

Sanchez, Levine

Flight Director(s)

Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

McAllister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Flight Plan

The planned pattern is for a 90 n mi butterfly with an additional Gravity Wave Module to the NW at the completion of the pattern. Altitude will be 10 kft.

Expendable Distribution

Dropsondes to be released at the endpoints (EMC), midpoints (EMC), center (EMC), and RMWs on each inbound and outbound (6 charged to EMC, the remainder to ONR TCRI). ONR AXBTs will be released at each endpoint, and once in the center (if possible).

Preflight Weather Briefing

As of the 11 AM EDT NHC Advisory, Hurricane Sam was located near 13.9N / 50.2W, had an estimated max wind of 125 kt, MSLP of 943 mb, and was moving west-northwest at 7 kt. Since yesterday, it appears that the storm has more or less been in a steady state, though the inner core continues to exhibit an impressive ring of deep convection and clear eye. The environment continues to be favorable for the storm to maintain its intensity, and perhaps strengthen some (though it is fairly close to its maximum potential intensity), though eyewall replacement cycles are certainly possible and could temporarily weaken the storm. It’ll be interesting to see whether this flight observes secondary eyewall formation.

Instrument Notes

All instruments up and functioning.  WSRA received a software update to potentially fix a bad data processing from yesterday’s flight.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Time [UTC]

Event

1941

Take off from STIX / 2 h until begin pattern

2045

5 PM NHC Advisory: 14.2N / 50.5W, 130 kt, 938 mb, moving northwest at 6 kt: “Sam has found a way to strengthen some more today. The ring of intense convection surrounding the 15-n-mi-diameter eye has expanded in size over the past several hours, while cloud tops colder than -70C still completely surround the center. An earlier GMI microwave overpass revealed very strong eyewall convection tightly wrapped around the small eye, a feature oftentimes seen with intense hurricanes. The latest Dvorak intensity estimates from TAFB and SAB

2053

Screenshot below shows the Aeolus track, which will pass by the storm around 2134 UTC. The P-3 will reach the 125 n mi eastern edge about 184 n mi from the center. G-IV has had to deviate around an outer band to target their sondes to the south of the storm.

2133

Aeolus just passed near the P-3 and just west of the storm.

2159

Pattern shifted a little east to center it on the eye (from SS mode on MMR)

2215

IP West (Sonde #1 [EMC1]; ONR AXBT #1). SST 28.4°C

Sonde incorrectly processed.

2225

G-IV now in the inner circumnav as the P-3 approaches the midpoint of the inbound from the west. Precipitation only extends to about that midpoint on the west side.

2226

MP West (Sonde #2 [EMC2])

2235

First RMW West (Sonde #3 [EMC3])

2235

Second RMW West (Sonde #4 [ONR1])

2236

Third RMW West (Sonde #5 [ONR2])

2237

Center #1 (Sonde #6 [EMC4]; ONR AXBT #2); 937 mb splash, 110deg./41 kt surface winds

2238

First RMW East (Sonde #7 [EMC5])

2239

Second RMW East (Sonde #8 [ONR3])

2239

Third RMW East (Sonde #9 [ONR4])

2242

A look at the first pass of the center. MSLP was extrapolated to 932 mb, with 134 kt inbound (west side) maximum surface wind, though oddly the outbound to the east in the VDM only said 98 kt.

2249

MP E (Sonde #10 [EMC6])

2252

Looks like secondary eyewall formation is in progress based on MMR imagery! Interestingly the flight level wind speeds are symmetric on the east and west sides, but the surface winds were much higher on the west side than east.

2259

EP E (Sonde #11 [EMC7]; ONR AXBT #3)

2307

P-3 and G-IV passing next to each other — opportunity for TDR intercomparison. P-3 showing straiform on the MMR and TDR returns up to 10 km

2329

IP NE (Sonde #12 [EMC8]; ONR AXBT #4). Now inbound from the NE; G-IV on the southern portion of the inner circumnav.

2339

MP NE (Sonde #13 [EMC9])

2342

The first TDR analysis (below) shows an outer ring of vorticity at 2 and 5 km at 30 km from the center, suggesting that the SEF is forming. So we decided to drop the first RMW sonde on this inbound from the NE at 15 nmi (where the SEF may be) from the center, then keep the 2 RMW sondes. LPS is reporting an SEF feature on the MMR.

2347

SEF NE (Sonde #14 [ONR5])

2349

First RMW NE (Sonde #15 [EMC10])

2349

Second RMW NE (Sonde #16 [ONR6])

2351

Center #2 (Sonde #17 [EMC11]); 943 mb splash pressure and 155 deg./23 kt winds

2352

First RMW SW (Sonde #18 [EMC12])

2353

Second RMW SW (Sonde #19 [ONR7])

2353

Third RMW SW (Sonde #20 [ONR8])

0003

MP SW (Sonde #21 [EMC13])

0012

G-IV has completed their inner circumnavigation and the P-3 is nearing the end of its first pass.

0013

EP SW (Sonde #22 [EMC14]; ONR AXBT #5)

0027

MMR image from the inbound of the previous pass suggesting where the SEF could be. The eyewall is still well defined, but the SEF is showing up in almost all quadrants, even in the surface roughness mode.

0036

IP SE (Sonde #23 [EMC15]; ONR AXBT #6)

0045

Inbound to the center on the last pass, from the southeast. Sondes on this pass will once again target the SEF location with one of the 3 RMW sondes (the other 2 will still be released in the RMW).

0047

MP SE (Sonde #24 [EMC16])

0051

A look at the 2nd TDR analyses showing continued SEF development. On the first pass, the low-level reflectivity was more of spiral outer eyewall structure; the 2nd pass shows more of an outer ring:

The image below is the composite relative vorticity from the first two passes:

Then tangential wind profile from the 2nd pass:

The 1st pass at 2 km:

The 2nd pass at 2 km:

0053

SEF SE (Sonde #25 [ONR9])

0055

First RMW SE (Sonde #26 [EMC17])

0056

Second RMW SE (Sonde #27 [ONR10])

0057

Center #3 (Sonde #28 [EMC18])

0058

First RMW NW (Sonde #29 [ONR11])

0059

Second RMW NW (Sonde #30 [ONR12])

0059

Third RMW NW (Sonde #31 [EMC19])

0103

SEF NW (Sonde #32 [ONR13])

IR satellite loop shows warming cloud tops and trending towards weakening of the original inner eye.

0111

MP NW (Sonde #33 [EMC20])

0120

Nearing the completion of the butterfly; about time to do the Gravity Wave Module — looks nice and clear ahead to do the module.

0119

EP NW (Sonde #34 [EMC21]; ONR AXBT #7)

0119

Start of Gravity Wave Module to the NW; nice and straight and level outbound, which is ideal for the GW module.

0133

Turning around for return leg of Gravity Wave Module

0153

Gravity Wave Module completed very successfully.

Mission Complete. The final track:

The final satellite loops from the mission:

The third TDR analysis at 2 km showing how very little is left of the inner eyewall:

The final TDR composite analyses (keep in mind there is a lot of evolution in these structures being averaged together):

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Mission Summary

This mission captured secondary eyewall formation (SEF) as the storm was coming out of peak intensity (the 11 PM EDT NHC forecast discussion suggested an intensity of 135 kt, 929 mb based on the initial data from the first pass of the mission). The observations from the TDR, MMR, and flight level winds clearly indicated SEF formation at about 15-20 n mi from the center (though possibly already had started by the time the P-3 arrived in the storm). The storm is now on a weakening trend (perhaps as much as 14 mb increase in the central pressure, 943 mb by the end). The final satellite loops show the impact of the SEF and pending potential eyewall replacement cycle (ERC). There has been a dramatic warming of the inner central dense overcast (CDO) during the mission, especially on the western side of the inner core, and the eye that was so impressive earlier is filling in. By the second pass, one of the three planned RMW dropsonde releases were changed to be dropped near the radius of the SEF, which was of great interest to the ONR TCRI program, as well. One of the unique aspects of this flight versus other flights that have sampled SEFs is that the inner core was so small that the original eyewall and secondary eyewall were in range of the TDR on each pass; that will allow us to look in detail at the time evolution of the SEF process during the mission. So, overall, excellent data collection and now the question will be: does Sam complete an ERC?

34 dropsondes released (34 transmitted; 21 charged to NWS; 13 charged to ONR); 7 ONR AXBTs (all good; SSTs 27-28.5C)

Actual Standard Pattern Flown

Butterfly with 90 n mi radial legs

APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown

Mature Experiment: Gravity Wave Module; flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI

Plain Language Summary

  • This mission sampled Sam as it was coming out of its peak intensity and into secondary eyewall formation (SEF). Secondary eyewall formation is a process by which an outer eyewall develops and cuts off the dynamics of the original inner eyewall, leading to a weakening of the eye and inner eyewall. SEF in this case led to a weakening of the strength of the storm.
  • This mission sampled the small fluctuations in vertical winds (called gravity waves) away from the core of the storm. The science is part of an experiment that seeks to find a link between these waves and the intensity of the hurricane.

Instrument Notes

  • CRL remained on for the entire flight
  • WSRA appears to have transmitted good data

Final Mission Track

P3 track

P3 + G-IV tracks

Mission Summary 20210926H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0218A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC/ONR/TCRI

Planned pattern

Butterfly

Takeoff time

1942 Z

Landing time

0414 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

8.1 hours

Block Tine

8.5 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
34/34/34

Ocean Expendables 

None

sUAS 

None

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Lead Scientist(s)

Zawislak

Radar Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

J. Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Legidakes, Keith, Rannenberg

Navigator(s)

Hough, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

Sanchez, Levine

Flight Director(s)

Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

T. Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

McAllister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Flight Plan

The planned pattern is for a 90 n mi butterfly with an additional Gravity Wave Module to the NW at the completion of the pattern. Altitude will be 10 kft.

Expendable Distribution

Dropsondes to be released at the endpoints (EMC), midpoints (EMC), center (EMC), and RMWs on each inbound and outbound (6 charged to EMC, the remainder to ONR TCRI). ONR AXBTs will be released at each endpoint, and once in the center (if possible).

Preflight Weather Briefing

As of the 11 AM EDT NHC Advisory, Hurricane Sam was located near 13.9N / 50.2W, had an estimated max wind of 125 kt, MSLP of 943 mb, and was moving west-northwest at 7 kt. Since yesterday, it appears that the storm has more or less been in a steady state, though the inner core continues to exhibit an impressive ring of deep convection and clear eye. The environment continues to be favorable for the storm to maintain its intensity, and perhaps strengthen some (though it is fairly close to its maximum potential intensity), though eyewall replacement cycles are certainly possible and could temporarily weaken the storm. It’ll be interesting to see whether this flight observes secondary eyewall formation.

Instrument Notes

All instruments up and functioning.  WSRA received a software update to potentially fix a bad data processing from yesterday’s flight.

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Time [UTC]

Event

1941

Take off from STIX / 2 h until begin pattern

2045

5 PM NHC Advisory: 14.2N / 50.5W, 130 kt, 938 mb, moving northwest at 6 kt: “Sam has found a way to strengthen some more today. The ring of intense convection surrounding the 15-n-mi-diameter eye has expanded in size over the past several hours, while cloud tops colder than -70C still completely surround the center. An earlier GMI microwave overpass revealed very strong eyewall convection tightly wrapped around the small eye, a feature oftentimes seen with intense hurricanes. The latest Dvorak intensity estimates from TAFB and SAB

2053

Screenshot below shows the Aeolus track, which will pass by the storm around 2134 UTC. The P-3 will reach the 125 n mi eastern edge about 184 n mi from the center. G-IV has had to deviate around an outer band to target their sondes to the south of the storm.

2133

Aeolus just passed near the P-3 and just west of the storm.

2159

Pattern shifted a little east to center it on the eye (from SS mode on MMR)

2215

IP West (Sonde #1 [EMC1]; ONR AXBT #1). SST 28.4°C

Sonde incorrectly processed.

2225

G-IV now in the inner circumnav as the P-3 approaches the midpoint of the inbound from the west. Precipitation only extends to about that midpoint on the west side.

2226

MP West (Sonde #2 [EMC2])

2235

First RMW West (Sonde #3 [EMC3])

2235

Second RMW West (Sonde #4 [ONR1])

2236

Third RMW West (Sonde #5 [ONR2])

2237

Center #1 (Sonde #6 [EMC4]; ONR AXBT #2); 937 mb splash, 110deg./41 kt surface winds

2238

First RMW East (Sonde #7 [EMC5])

2239

Second RMW East (Sonde #8 [ONR3])

2239

Third RMW East (Sonde #9 [ONR4])

2242

A look at the first pass of the center. MSLP was extrapolated to 932 mb, with 134 kt inbound (west side) maximum surface wind, though oddly the outbound to the east in the VDM only said 98 kt.

2249

MP E (Sonde #10 [EMC6])

2252

Looks like secondary eyewall formation is in progress based on MMR imagery! Interestingly the flight level wind speeds are symmetric on the east and west sides, but the surface winds were much higher on the west side than east.

2259

EP E (Sonde #11 [EMC7]; ONR AXBT #3)

2307

P-3 and G-IV passing next to each other — opportunity for TDR intercomparison. P-3 showing straiform on the MMR and TDR returns up to 10 km

2329

IP NE (Sonde #12 [EMC8]; ONR AXBT #4). Now inbound from the NE; G-IV on the southern portion of the inner circumnav.

2339

MP NE (Sonde #13 [EMC9])

2342

The first TDR analysis (below) shows an outer ring of vorticity at 2 and 5 km at 30 km from the center, suggesting that the SEF is forming. So we decided to drop the first RMW sonde on this inbound from the NE at 15 nmi (where the SEF may be) from the center, then keep the 2 RMW sondes. LPS is reporting an SEF feature on the MMR.

2347

SEF NE (Sonde #14 [ONR5])

2349

First RMW NE (Sonde #15 [EMC10])

2349

Second RMW NE (Sonde #16 [ONR6])

2351

Center #2 (Sonde #17 [EMC11]); 943 mb splash pressure and 155 deg./23 kt winds

2352

First RMW SW (Sonde #18 [EMC12])

2353

Second RMW SW (Sonde #19 [ONR7])

2353

Third RMW SW (Sonde #20 [ONR8])

0003

MP SW (Sonde #21 [EMC13])

0012

G-IV has completed their inner circumnavigation and the P-3 is nearing the end of its first pass.

0013

EP SW (Sonde #22 [EMC14]; ONR AXBT #5)

0027

MMR image from the inbound of the previous pass suggesting where the SEF could be. The eyewall is still well defined, but the SEF is showing up in almost all quadrants, even in the surface roughness mode.

0036

IP SE (Sonde #23 [EMC15]; ONR AXBT #6)

0045

Inbound to the center on the last pass, from the southeast. Sondes on this pass will once again target the SEF location with one of the 3 RMW sondes (the other 2 will still be released in the RMW).

0047

MP SE (Sonde #24 [EMC16])

0051

A look at the 2nd TDR analyses showing continued SEF development. On the first pass, the low-level reflectivity was more of spiral outer eyewall structure; the 2nd pass shows more of an outer ring:

The image below is the composite relative vorticity from the first two passes:

Then tangential wind profile from the 2nd pass:

The 1st pass at 2 km:

The 2nd pass at 2 km:

0053

SEF SE (Sonde #25 [ONR9])

0055

First RMW SE (Sonde #26 [EMC17])

0056

Second RMW SE (Sonde #27 [ONR10])

0057

Center #3 (Sonde #28 [EMC18])

0058

First RMW NW (Sonde #29 [ONR11])

0059

Second RMW NW (Sonde #30 [ONR12])

0059

Third RMW NW (Sonde #31 [EMC19])

0103

SEF NW (Sonde #32 [ONR13])

IR satellite loop shows warming cloud tops and trending towards weakening of the original inner eye.

0111

MP NW (Sonde #33 [EMC20])

0120

Nearing the completion of the butterfly; about time to do the Gravity Wave Module — looks nice and clear ahead to do the module.

0119

EP NW (Sonde #34 [EMC21]; ONR AXBT #7)

0119

Start of Gravity Wave Module to the NW; nice and straight and level outbound, which is ideal for the GW module.

0133

Turning around for return leg of Gravity Wave Module

0153

Gravity Wave Module completed very successfully.

Mission Complete. The final track:

The final satellite loops from the mission:

The third TDR analysis at 2 km showing how very little is left of the inner eyewall:

The final TDR composite analyses (keep in mind there is a lot of evolution in these structures being averaged together):

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210926H1

Mission Summary

This mission captured secondary eyewall formation (SEF) as the storm was coming out of peak intensity (the 11 PM EDT NHC forecast discussion suggested an intensity of 135 kt, 929 mb based on the initial data from the first pass of the mission). The observations from the TDR, MMR, and flight level winds clearly indicated SEF formation at about 15-20 n mi from the center (though possibly already had started by the time the P-3 arrived in the storm). The storm is now on a weakening trend (perhaps as much as 14 mb increase in the central pressure, 943 mb by the end). The final satellite loops show the impact of the SEF and pending potential eyewall replacement cycle (ERC). There has been a dramatic warming of the inner central dense overcast (CDO) during the mission, especially on the western side of the inner core, and the eye that was so impressive earlier is filling in. By the second pass, one of the three planned RMW dropsonde releases were changed to be dropped near the radius of the SEF, which was of great interest to the ONR TCRI program, as well. One of the unique aspects of this flight versus other flights that have sampled SEFs is that the inner core was so small that the original eyewall and secondary eyewall were in range of the TDR on each pass; that will allow us to look in detail at the time evolution of the SEF process during the mission. So, overall, excellent data collection and now the question will be: does Sam complete an ERC?

34 dropsondes released (34 transmitted; 21 charged to NWS; 13 charged to ONR); 7 ONR AXBTs (all good; SSTs 27-28.5C)

Actual Standard Pattern Flown

Butterfly with 90 n mi radial legs

APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown

Mature Experiment: Gravity Wave Module; flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI

Plain Language Summary

  • This mission sampled Sam as it was coming out of its peak intensity and into secondary eyewall formation (SEF). Secondary eyewall formation is a process by which an outer eyewall develops and cuts off the dynamics of the original inner eyewall, leading to a weakening of the eye and inner eyewall. SEF in this case led to a weakening of the strength of the storm.
  • This mission sampled the small fluctuations in vertical winds (called gravity waves) away from the core of the storm. The science is part of an experiment that seeks to find a link between these waves and the intensity of the hurricane.

Instrument Notes

  • CRL remained on for the entire flight
  • WSRA appears to have transmitted good data

Final Mission Track

P3 track

P3 + G-IV tracks

Mission Summary 20210927I1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

0318A

Aircraft

NOAA43

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Figure-4

Takeoff time

1138 Z

Landing time

1812 Z

Takeoff Location

St. Croix

Landing Location

St. Croix

Flight Time

6.6 hours

Block Tine

6.7 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
2/2 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
19/17/17

Ocean Expendables 

5 ONR AXBT

sUAS 

None

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

  • Tail Doppler Radar

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton

Radar Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Fischer

Sonde Scientist(s)

Alaka

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

Chang, Jelanak, Sapp

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Didier, Doremus, Copare

Navigator(s)

Freeman

Flight Engineer(s)

Darby, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

Holmes

Data Technician(s)

Mascaro

AVAPS Tech(s)

Warnecke

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210927I1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210927I1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210927I1

Mission Summary 20210927H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WA09A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

HRD/ONR TCRI

Planned pattern

Rotated Figure4

Takeoff time

1955 Z

Landing time

0413 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

 8.3 hours

Block Tine

 8.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
25/25/25

Ocean Expendables 

5 ONR AXBT

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

Early Stage Experiments:

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Rogers

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

 Rogers

Radar Scientist(s)

 Gamache/Alvey

Sonde Scientist(s)

 J. Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Rossi, Shaw, Keith

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 McAlister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210925H1
Flight Plan This is an HRD-tasked research mission into Hurricane Ida in collaboration with ONR/TCRI.  The planned flight track calls for flying a rotated figure-4 with possible additions of a microphysical spiral module in stratiform precipitation between points 2 and 3 along with a convective burst module.
Expendable Distribution Endpoint, midpoint, eyewall/RMW drops, center drops. AXBTs planned at points 1, 3, 6, and 7 along with one center pass as shown above.
Preflight Weather Briefing Ida has strengthened into a hurricane through the day as it approaches the western tip of Cuba.  As of the 1900 UTC advisory, NHC has Ida at 65 kt with a minimum central pressure of 987 mb and moving NW at 13 kt.  Ida is currently passing over the Isle of Youth and will be approaching the southern coast of the Cuban mainland near the time that the P-3 is reaching the storm.

The NHC forecast calls for Ida to maintain hurricane strength as it passes over Cuba and potentially rapidly intensify over the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall along the northern Gulf coast.

Instrument Notes None

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210925H1

Time [UTC]

Event

1955 Takeoff from Lakeland
2030 Interesting evolution in the cloud structure on IR as Ida’s central dense overcast (CDO) approached the northern edge of Cuba.  It appears to go from a well organized CDO to being very ragged on the northern half of the storm.  Curious if the mountains along the northern coast of Cuba disrupted the circulation enough to cause this collapse.
2103 Discussing possible targets for microphysics spiral.  There is a potential that stratiform precip is present on the SE side (outbound leg 1) that could be a target.  Another option is between pts 2 and 3, likely on the N side of Cuba. Plan is to assess on the outbound pass to determine if it’s worth backtracking for the spiral near the center on the SE side.
2106 Arrived at initial point (IP)
2114 Rob noted stratiform precip present on TDR off their left wing
2122 Slight deviation around convection
2124 Jun noted RMW sonde hasd 66 kt surface wind
2130 Rob noted that they broke out into the clear with a stratus deck below and above them.  This coincides with them exiting the region of coldest cloud tops.
2133 TDR Xchat channel reported antenna packet communication dead.
2136 No RMW or 50 km drops since they would have been over land
2137 Todd is rebooting the TDR
2139 TDR back up
2140 2-min HRD center: 22.41N, 83.85W (6.66 nmi SE of marked center).  Lowest extrap pressure of 988 mb and min wind speed 14.641 kt.
2158 EP leg 1 (pt 2).  Turning back inbound to target the region of stratiform precip for the microphysics spiral.
2159 John had Rob close the loop_check_sweeps window to see if that was causing a backlog that was disrupting the xchat/comms with the radar workstations ability to sync files.
2217 Beginning microphysics spiral in region east of the center
2232 Top of the microphysics spiral at 22 kft.  Rob noted that there wasn’t much precip at the higher altitudes.  We had discussions about doing a second microphysics spiral to the NW of this location, but decided to proceed to pt3 to allow for more options as the flight progresses and to get the second pass in and hopefully catch a convective burst (CB) as it comes offshore on the W side of the eye.
2249 Finished descending back to 10 kft and proceeding to pt 3
2301 Some lightning showing up in the CB that has been occurring to the W of the eye.  It’s definitely bursting!
2310 Inbound at pt 3
2316 Tracking slightly right of planned track on leg 2 due to Havana air space
2328 No RMW, quarter pt, or center due to land on this inbound leg
2335 Rob noted a closed eyewall, almost on MMR.  Kind of a banded structure.
2337 Marked center.  2-min HRD center: 22.48N 83.41W. 5.74 n mi NW of marked center.  Lowest extrap pressure: 987 mb minimum wind speed: 11.687 kt No RMW drop outbound as they were still over land
2343 Rob noted the flight level winds were very asymmetric on this pass.  About a 25-30 kt difference between NE and SW
2347 We will not be able to drop a BT in the center, so we are trying to decide where we want to drop the 5th BT.  Rob’s suggestion was midpoint outbound to the N. Jun thought that was a good plan
2349 Rob said we will have about 20 mins for a CB module.  Trying to determine potential targets.  Discussion about the south side of the eyewall. Cold cloud tops on IR imagery have expanded quite a bit so it’s hard to tell from the ground where a good CB target would be anymore.  Will have to rely on MMR on this pass to see if there is anything to target.
2359 Rob talked to Nikki and they were wondering if we could fly parallel to the CB in the SW eyewall inside the eye.  The legs would be pretty short ~8-10 n mi.  John G. said that you probably want at least ~30 n mi to get enough overlap between the fore and aft beams.  You need 2 mins on each side of the length that you want.
0006 End of leg 2, pt 4
0009 Rob is thinking about doing radial pennies, 30 n mi in length on the N side outbound.  So, go out initially 30 n mi from the start of the leg, turn around and come back 30 n mi and then resume outbound and the remainder of the pattern.  Right now there isn’t much showing on Cuba radar or IR imagery to indicate a good target on the N side.
0020 Pt 5, begin leg 3
0033 Midpoint sonde
0034 Approaching southern eyewall
0036 Rob noted that there is nothing showing up on this inbound leg in terms of convection.  Just a thin line of returns on the nose, broken on the MMR.  Stratiform east of them over Cuba.  Seeing some more on the east side further north.
0040 Latest frame of Cuba radar looks like there might be something bursting on the N side.
0042 Rob noted a feature showing up on the MMR ~40 n mi N of them, which is the distance I was noting as well for the feature on Cuban radar.  Rob noted another feature ~30 n mi NNE of their position.  The feature to their N looks like a better target for a CB module.  Can also do drops on  that one since it is farther offshore.
0045 The CB on the N side looks like it might be trying to wrap into the eyewall.
0046 Mark center
0050 Turning to 315 degree heading to start the CB module on the N side of the eye just off the N shore of Cuba.  Will go for 30 n mi outbound then back, then resume pattern
0052 Rob noted that this feature is pretty narrow.  He said it does look like it might be trying to wrap into the eyewall, but it’s kind of localized on the MMR right now.  They are seeing red on the nose radar.
0054 Rob noted echo tops ~8-12 km, so moderately deep convection.
0055 Some echo tops up to 14-15 km now.
0057 Rob is wondering if we should do a third pass back out through this feature on the same radial then resume pattern.
0059 Turning back inbound for a second pass through CB.
0100 Climbing to 12 kft because AF is entering the storm
0101 Trying to decide if it’s better to get TDR coverage back on the S-N radial or more beneficial to get the 3rd pass through the CB. Cold cloud tops are starting to show up in IR imagery near this CB that we are targeting.  Rob thinks the CB is growing, so we decided that since this was a research mission it would be more beneficial to do the 3rd pass through the CB.
0104 Rob noted that the CB looks more impressive on nose radar
0105 Having some comms dropouts
0110 Turned back outbound to 315 degree heading for 3rd pass through CB.
0114 Just noticed HDOBs are delayed coming off the plane.  Last message on the ground is from 2314Z.  TDR is also not coming off plane
0119 End of 3rd pass through CB
0125 Paralleling the CB somewhat while heading to pt 6
0129 Midpoint sonde, combo drop
0130 GOES-16 IR imagery showing cold cloud tops developing in region of CB sampling
0132 Rob checked the WMM app and said there are a lot of messages pending being sent off the plane, so it seems like comms are just being very slow
0133 Todd made a change to a config file and messages should be coming off now.
0140 Turning downwind at pt 6
0142 Turning right a little for avoidance
0212 Turning inbound at pt 7
0224 HDOBs appear to have caught up arriving on the ground
0234 They are approaching the CB that they flew earlier.  Rob said they have the surface roughness mode on right now, but it doesn’t look that threatening on the nose radar.  Just yellows.  The tail looks mostly stratiform.  Cuba radar was indicating it may have become stratiform, but we weren’t sure if that was just because of it being at the edge of the radar range.
0237 TDR data trickling off slowly.  John G. said we will probably only get TDR data from two passes off the plane.
0238 Rob noted expansive echos up to 15 km on TDR to their right.
0239 Winds are sending them south.  They are doing some “light” hunting.  Rob noted this storm has been difficult to fix the whole flight.
0241 Rob said that the MMR surface roughness is really interesting.  Almost two centers, one behind and one in front of them. Seems like a new eye might be trying to form.  MMR shows interesting structure.
0248 Rob said the MMR looks more reasonable now, like they’re in the center just barely offshore
0251 Rob notes that that it’s almost like it’s getting better organized as it emerges offshore
0253 RMW sonde on the E side
0259 Just noticed that after they climbed to 12 kft, the SFMR was being /// in the HDOBs.  The altitude threshold has not been removed and they were exceeding the 12.5 kft radar altitude threshold.  After chatting with Ashley, we will try to go to 8 kft when necessary rather than 12 kft on future flights into Ida.
0309 Endpoint, pt 8.  Heading back to LAL
0341 TDR turned off

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210925H1
Mission Summary We successfully flew a rotated figure-4 pattern along with a microphysics spiral module on the east side of the storm south of Cuba and a convective burst module during the third leg on the N side of Cuba.  Throughout the flight, we sampled the storm before making landfall on the south coast of Cuba, while it was over Cuba, and after it emerged off the north coast of Cuba.  The evolution of the structure throughout this flight was quite interesting as the interactions with Cuba seemed to disrupt the low level circulation, but the convection and upper levels seemed to be maintained well enough that it did not hinder the storm’s evolution significantly.  The 0300 UTC NHC advisory had Ida at a minimum SLP of 989 mb and max sustained winds of 70 kts.

IR imagery throughout the flight showed the CDO collapse on the north side as Ida approached Cuba and began to redevelop as it crossed over Cuba.

Another interesting observation is that in all of the TDR analyses, the strongest inflow was depicted as occurring on the north side of the circulation.  However, I wonder if this could be an artifact of land in the TDR data.

Final plot of HDOBs:

Expendables deployed: 25 dropsondes (10 HRD, 15 ONR); 5 NRL AXBTs

Actual Standard Pattern Flown Rotated Figure-4
APHEX Experiments / Modules Flown Early Stage Experiment: AIPEX; Early Stage Experiment: Convective Burst Structure and Evolution Module; Early Stage Experiment: Stratiform Spiral Module; was flown in collaboration with ONR TCRI
Plain Language Summary
  • This mission collected observations that spanned Ida’s approach to the southern coast of Cuba all the way until it emerged off the northern coast of Cuba.
  • We collected data about the vertical precipitation distribution on the east side of the storm
  • We sampled a newly forming region of thunderstorms on the north side of Cuba as Ida was coming offshore to see how this new region would impact the eyewall development.
Instrument Notes Several issues with data transmission, especially during the second half of the flight.  We also had problems with the TDR radarsync throughout the flight.
Final Mission Track

Mission Summary 20210929H1

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

WC09A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

HRD

Planned pattern

Modified Butterfly

Takeoff time

1703 Z

Landing time

2320 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

 6.3 hours

Block Tine

 6.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
3/3 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
18/18/18

Ocean Expendables 


7 UM AXBT

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

End Stage Experiments:

Mature Stage Experiments:

Ocean Observing:

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Rogers

Lead Scientist(s)

Holbach

Radar Scientist(s)

Rogers

Radar Scientist(s)

 Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

Jun Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Rossi, Shaw, Keith

Navigator(s)

 Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Stokes

Flight Director(s)

 Hathaway, Lundry, Flaherty

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210929H1

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210929H1

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210929H1

Mission Summary 20210929H2

[PDF version of this summary]

Tasking ID

1218A

Aircraft

NOAA42

Tasked by

EMC

Planned pattern

Figure-4

Takeoff time

1938 Z

Landing time

0344 Z

Takeoff Location

Lakeland

Landing Location

Lakeland

Flight Time

 6.3 hours

Block Tine

 6.6 hours

Expendables

Real-time Radar Analyses:
Total/Transmitted
4/4 Dropsondes:
Total/Good/Transmitted
30/28/28

Ocean Expendables 


0

sUAS 

 0

Experiments & Modules

APHEX Experiments & Modules

End Stage Experiments:

Mature Stage Experiments:

Ocean Observing:

Crew Lists

Science Crew

Science Crew Manifest
Onboard Ground

Lead Scientist(s)

Bucci

Lead Scientist(s)

Hazelton/Sellwood

Radar Scientist(s)

Bucci

Radar Scientist(s)

 Gamache

Sonde Scientist(s)

Jun Zhang

Sonde Scientist(s)

None

NESDIS Scientist(s)

None

Guests (Affiliation)

None

Aircraft Crew

Aircraft Crew Manifest

Pilot(s)

Legidakes, Keith, Rannenberg

Navigator(s)

 Hough, Utama

Flight Engineer(s)

 Sanchez, Levine

Flight Director(s)

 Hathaway, Lundry

Data Technician(s)

 Todd Richards

AVAPS Tech(s)

 McAlister

Flight Log

Pre-Flight

PRE-FLIGHT
20210929H2

In-Flight

IN-FLIGHT
20210929H2

Time [UTC]

Event

Post-Flight

POST-FLIGHT
20210929H2