Hurricane hunter planes deliver a message: Get ready
With the start of the hurricane season less than two weeks away on
"We're like a flying test tube," said Sgt.
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Friday marked the last day on the job for Knabb, who is returning to his post at the Weather Channel as an on-air hurricane expert. During his four years as director, he helped shepherd narrowing track forecasts and new flood alerts.
At a media briefing, Knabb took a final chance to thank his colleagues and rally the public to begin preparations now for the upcoming season.
If these folks are willing to fly into a hurricane for us, then the least we can do is get ready for the next hurricane.
"If these folks are willing to fly into a hurricane for us, then the least we can do is get ready for the next hurricane," Knabb said before running down a checklist. Chief on his list: Know local evacuation zones (
"Hurricane Andrew happened in a below average year," he said of the storm that flattened parts of the county 25 years ago this August. "It doesn't matter how busy the season is overall. What matters is how bad it is where you live."
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Stickers with the names of all the tropical storms and hurricanes it has flown into decorate the
This year, hurricane forecasters have added two new tools to warn the public. For the first time, they will issue storm surge watches and warnings that will let the public know when coastal flooding is expected. They will also begin issuing forecast advisories on near-shore systems that haven't yet become storms but are close enough to become a threat with rapid intensification.
The new powerful GOES-16 satellite, launched in November, is also expected to improve forecasts by collecting images at a far greater resolution and speed than earlier satellites. The satellite helps provide big-picture information on a storm, in contrast to the up-close look delivered by the hurricane hunter planes that remain central to forecasting, said
We have a lot of other tools to monitor, but there's nothing like the airplane to send into a storm.
"We have a lot of other tools to monitor, but there's nothing like the airplane to send into a storm," he said. "It's our ground troops."
And a big one. The planes in the fleet can weigh up to 135,000 pounds fully loaded and cost up to
The plane's primary mission is finding the center of the storm so forecasters can predict intensity and size, not exactly an easy assignment for pilots.
"There is a strategy: not to get the plane ripped apart," said Maj.
Last year, Dunn piloted a plane in winds up to 166 mph during Hurricane Matthew, short of the record set by a colleague who flew into record winds recorded above 200 mph in Hurricane Patricia in 2015.
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The nose of the
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"We're always looking for that sweet spot," said
But even with all their tools, Knabb said preparation remains the public's best weapon.
"The things you need to do to get ready for the next hurricane and survive the hurricane and recover in the aftermath," he said, "are a lot more difficult, a lot more expensive if not impossible to do if you wait until the last minute."
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The weather officer's work station inside the C-130 hurricane hunter plane, which made a pre-season stop Friday at the
The weather officer's work station inside the C-130 hurricane hunter plane, which made a pre-season stop Friday at the
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