NOAA’s P-3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft completed a flight into Tropical Storm Nana in the Caribbean on the morning of September 2. AOML scientists onboard the aircraft, and from the ground, quality controlled and sent dropsonde and radar data to the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) and National Hurricane Center (NHC) in real time.
A recent paper published in Atmosphere introduces a new update to the Basin-Scale Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF-B) model, which pairs an atmospheric model with an ocean model via new coupling technology to forecast several tropical cyclones simultaneously. This model, shown to improve forecast skill, was developed at AOML in collaboration with NOAA’s Environmental Modeling Center and the Developmental Testbed Center.
AOML hurricane scientists coordinated with ground crews stationed in the path of Laura’s trajectory to obtain valuable measurements that captured the structural evolution of major Hurricane Laura upon landfall, while successfully completing all operational mission objectives.
AOML hurricane scientists supporting NOAA reconnaissance into Hurricane Laura recognized the onset of rapid intensification when thunderstorms, often referred to as convection, began working its way around the entirety of the storm center.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Tropical Depression 13 to Tropical Storm Laura after yesterday morning’s reconnaissance mission confirmed gale-force surface winds within Laura’s vortex. AOML scientists provided remote support for onboard Tail Doppler Radar and dropsonde data processing and continue to do so for upcoming missions into the system.
With peak Atlantic hurricane season fast approaching, AOML scientists begin supporting NOAA Hurricane Hunter missions into Tropical Storm Laura. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) have tasked NOAA’s two P-3 aircraft to investigate the atmospheric conditions associated with the tropical storm.
NOAA’s P-3 Hurricane Hunters concluded their Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) tasked reconnaissance into Tropical Storm Isaias with real-time support from AOML’s Hurricane Research Division. The aircraft took off Monday, August 3 at 5 AM EDT, from Lakeland, Florida.
AOML scientists partnered with the U.S. Air Force 53rd Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” to deploy eight drifting buoys in advance of Tropical Storm Isaias on August 3, 2020 off the Carolina coast, in collaboration with the National Weather Service (NWS), National Hurricane Center (NHC), and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
NOAA’s most recent P-3 mission provided scientists and forecasters with measurements indicating that Tropical Storm Isaias maintains its strength as it contends with an environment that is unfavorable for development. Scientists processed these data in real-time, and weather models used these observations to improve forecast performance.
NOAA reconnaissance continues into Tropical Storm Isaias today after their most recent P-3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft returns home from its 7-hour mission tasked by the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC), which took off at 4:30 AM EDT Saturday, August 1st.
