NOAA’s P3 aircraft is up in the air and headed to fly over the Gulf of America. This flight took off from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Lakeland, FL at 10 AM ET (1400 UTC). The goal of this flight is to gather oceanic data. The ocean plays a role in the development of tropical cyclones. NOAA42 will fly and launch ocean probes that will collect data on the current ocean conditions. If a tropical cyclone passes over this area then we will also collect oceanic data afterward. This type of data collection allows us to see track how the ocean changes when a tropical weather system passes over it. Below is the flight track. The dot represents the launch locations of the ocean probes. The colors on the map below indicate the amount of ocean heat content in the water.
Published on: October 5, 2017