IFEX daily log
Sunday, July 17, 2005
N42RF returned to Tampa today, takeoff from San Jose 17 UTC. N43RF had a
down day today, in preparation for the tasked mission the following day into Hurricane
Emily. The NASA ER-2 also had a down day today, in preparation for some possible
missions in the following days.
Hurricane Emily continued to move toward the Yucatan peninsula as a major
hurricane. In the East Pacific, convection remained widespread, and there was some
indication of rotation in a system at around 13 N 102 W. The system that was flown by
the NOAA P-3's showed some evidence of rotation and deep convection around it during
the overnight hours, but it was not very impressive in terms of intensity and areal extent.
Other areas of deep convection, such as the one at 102 W mentioned previously, were
more impressive-looking and appeared to have the potential to develop into a tropical
depression.
It was decided today that N43RF would in fact be made available for future
IFEX/TCSP flights after the tasked missions into Emily were completed. The aircraft
would deploy to Acapulco, however, instead of San Jose, where it would be better-
positioned for possible genesis, should it occur. The plan called for N43RF to complete
its mission on Monday and return to Tampa, where it would have a down day the
following day. It would be available to re-deploy to Acapulco on Wednesday and be
ready for possible joint P-3/ER-2 night missions on Thursday night, Friday night, and
Saturday night. After that, N43RF would return back to Tampa for good. It is possible
that N43RF would delay its deployment until the following day, if no potential target
appeared.
Rob Rogers
HRD Field Program director
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