Hurricane Ike Quick Facts:
Landfall: September 13th, 2:10 a.m. in Galveston, Texas
Category at Landfall:  Category 2, almost Category 3
Damage: $31.5 Billion
Source:  Wikipedia

Hurricane Hunter Quick Facts:
Base: Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, MS
Aircraft Used: WC-130J
Average Length of Missions: 11 hours
Source: Hurricane Hunters Association

Interesting Links:

• National Hurricane Center Advisories for Hurricane Ike
  
• Hurricane Hunters
  
• Smurf Technology Information

For Additional Headlines - go to our News Section »

• Taunton Family Children's Home Fire
  made by Miriam
• Taunton Family Children's Home Fire
  made by pcbr8r
• Local Teachers Campaign Against Budget Cuts
  made by Watchdog
• Local Teachers Campaign Against Budget Cuts
  made by john mcbrown
• High School Car Crash Victim Dies
  made by calithas
• Taunton Family Children's Home Fire
  made by heatherg
• High School Car Crash Victim Dies
  made by AJ4U
• Florida Lottery Millionaire Raffle
  made by AJ4U
• Florida Lottery Millionaire Raffle
  made by elmoofgawf
• Florida Lottery Millionaire Raffle
  made by concernedcitizen

• Evacuation at Airport
• Beach Fire Sends 5 to Hospital
• Florida Lottery Millionaire Raffle
• Update: Armed Robbery Suspects Identified
• High School Car Crash Victim Dies
• Taunton Family Children’s Home Fire
• Boating Accident Leaves One Injured, One Dead
• Domestic Dispute Turns Into Shooting
• 3 Girls Crash Car into Tree
• Walton County Teen Remembered

Special Report - Hurricane Hunting
10/23/08 - 09:44 AM
 RSS Feed

On Friday, September 12, 2008, Meteorologist Jessica Foster and Videographer Brandon Smith took the ride of a lifetime.  They flew with the Hurricane Hunters into the eye of Hurricane Ike.  It was a nine hour mission that started from Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.  Jessica and Brandon arrived at Kessler Air Force Base at 2 a.m., just in time for the pre-flight briefing.  This is where crew members discuss the flight plan and the storm’s current condition and location.

By 5 a.m., the WC-130J was loaded up and the crew was ready to head into the center of Hurricane Ike.  The main task of the Hurricane Hunters is to take measurements and observations.  This information is then sent to the National Hurricane Center.  The data received is put into forecast models and used by Meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center to devise the storm’s forecasted path.

Dropsondes are instruments that are dropped into the storm.  A parachute is attached and the dropsonde falls through the hurricane and takes measurements.  These measurements include wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and pressure.  Meteorologists on the flight also use radar and visual clues to help them determine the strength of the storm.  One of these visual clues is to look at the Gulf of Mexico through breaks in the clouds.  When the water looks like marble that means hurricane force winds are occurring.  There’s also new technology called the Smurf, or Step Frequency Microwave Radiometer.  The Smurf uses microwave radiation to determine wind strength.

After nine hours in the air, the flight landed safely back at Kessler Air Force Base.  While the storm looks beautiful from the air, the devastation is unimaginable on land.  Hurricane Ike was a large storm with hurricane force winds extending far from the center.  Many residents along the Gulf Coast are still recovering from the storm’s impact.

This entry has been viewed 1894 times.