• Hurricane Research Division (HRD), NOAA/AOML (Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorol ogical Laboratory) - Dr. Hugh Willoughby (Director); public affairs officer (PAO): Jana Goldman (301-713-2483); in Miami: Erica Van Coverden (305-361-4541)
• Aircraft Operations Center (AOC), Office of NOAA Corps Operations - CAPT Robert Maxson (Director); PAO: LT Mark Moran (813-828-3310 x3028) (2 WP-3D and a G-IVSP aircraft)
• Tropical Prediction Center/National Hurricane Center (TPC/NHC), NOAA/National Weather Service - Max Mayfield (Director); PAO: Frank Lepore (305-229-4470).

Other groups providing support:

• 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, U.S. Air Force Reserve - 403rd Wing, PAO : Michele Rivera (228-377-2056) (WC-130 reconnaissance aircraft)
• Chief, Airborne Reconnaissance Coordination, All Hurricanes, (CARCAH), U.S. Air Forc e Reserve.

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WHO, WHEN, WHERE, HOW

6 August - 31 October 2000

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WHO, WHEN, WHERE, HOW

WHO, < a href="#When">WHEN, WHERE, HOW

Each year HRD receives 100-200 flight hours to use the NOAA WP-3D aircraft for hurricane research and to support NOAA TPC/NHC operations. HRD also supports TPC/NHC operations by designing flight tracks and processing dropsonde data from the NOAA G-IVSP air craft.

RESEARCH

• Staff designs and executes (fly on the aircraft) experiments to study hurricane behavior (track and intensity change).
• Same scientists analyze data and publish papers describing results.

SUPPORT OPERATIONS

• Transmit real-time information to TPC/NHC and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) via an aircraft-satellite data link.
• HRD airborne workstation generates dropsonde, flight-level, and r adar products for transmission.
• HRD workstation at TPC/NHC processes aircraft data to generate products for hurricane specialists.

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Updated Tuesday, 15 August 2000