Hurricane hunters
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (September 2017) |
Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into
The first crewed flight into a hurricane happened in 1943 when a pilot-trainer flew into a Category 1 hurricane near Galveston, Texas on a bet.[1]
In the past, before
Units
USAFR 53rd WRS
The Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the world's only operational military weather reconnaissance unit, is based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi; most weather recon flights originate there. The term "hurricane hunters" was first applied to its missions in 1946.
The USAFR hurricane hunters fly weather missions in an area midway through the Atlantic Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands, and have on occasion flown into typhoons in the Pacific Ocean and gathered data in winter storms.
The 53rd WRS hurricane hunters operate ten
NOAA Hurricane Hunters
The civilian and
Government Flying Service Hong Kong
Since 2009 the
History
Among the types of aircraft that have been used to investigate hurricanes, are an instrumented
The idea of aircraft reconnaissance of hurricane storm trackers was put forth by Captain W. L. Farnsworth of the Galveston Commercial Association in the early 1930s. Supported by the
1935 Labor Day Hurricane
The first time a reconnaissance flight took place with the sole purpose of locating a hurricane was during the 1935 Great Labor Day Hurricane, which would later become the strongest storm to ever impact the U.S.
On September 1, the storm moved through The Bahamas where it was estimated to be at hurricane strength. As a result, ships began to avoid the Florida Straight, depriving the Weather Bureau of valuable information. This led to confusion as the Weather Bureau believed it would continue on its westward parth and make landfall in Cuba while the Cuba weather service didn't see any evidence for this.
On September 2, a pilot flying over the Florida Keys noticed a large cloud mass to the east and more north than it should have been. The Cuban weather service requested a plane to be sent up to find the storm, with Captain Leonard Povey volunteering. After circling, but not penetrating (his plane had an open cockpit), the storm, he confirmed the storm was located more north than originally thought and actually heading northeast. This was relayed to the Weather Bureau, which immediately put warnings out for the Florida Keys. The storm would make landfall later that day.
Capt. Povey urged Congress and the Weather Bureau to implement full-time reconnaissance planes, but to no avail. A plan was laid out to use Coast Guard cutters, but was never implemented.[7]
1943 Surprise Hurricane
The
That summer, British pilots were being trained in instrument flying at
This flight showed that hurricane reconnaissance flights were possible, and further flights continued occasionally. In 1946, the moniker "Hurricane Hunters" was first used, and the Air Force and now Air Force Reserve have used it ever since. The flights demonstrated that hurricane reconnaissance flights were feasible.[10][11]
VW-4
The United States Navy's VW-4 / WEARECORON FOUR Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Four, "Hurricane Hunters" was the seventh U.S. Navy squadron dedicated to weather reconnaissance. They flew several types of aircraft, but the
Hurricane Katrina
The landfall of Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005 devastated Keesler Air Force Base, home of the 53rd WRS. The equipment and personnel of the squadron were flying out of Dobbins Air Reserve Base near Atlanta. Despite heavy equipment losses, the squadron never missed a mission from the National Hurricane Center. The 53rd has since returned to Keesler.
Aircraft losses
- October 1, 1945 - A United States Navy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer (Bureau Number: 59415) of VPB-119 went down in a Category 1 typhoon over the South China Sea. Six of the seven crew members were killed.[14]
- October 26, 1952 - A United States Air Force Boeing WB-29 Superfortress (Serial Number: 44-69970) from the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was lost in Super Typhoon Wilma over the Pacific with 10 men aboard.[15]
- December 16, 1953 - A United States Navy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer (Bureau Number: 59716) of Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VW-3) was lost during reconnaissance of Super Typhoon Doris. All nine members of the crew were killed.[16]
- September 26, 1955 - A United States Navy Lockheed P2V Neptune of Airborne Early Warning Squadron Four (VW-4) disappeared in Hurricane Janet over the Caribbean Sea with nine Navy men and two Canadian journalists aboard.[17]
- January 15, 1958 - A United States Air Force Boeing WB-50 Superfortress (Serial Number: 49-295) from the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron went down southeast of Guam while flying into Super Typhoon Ophelia with nine men aboard.[18]
- October 12, 1974 - In 1974, a newly converted WC-130lost in a storm.
Other incidents
- September 15, 1989 – While entering the downdrafts, causing the inboard right engine to overheat. The crew was forced to shut it down as the aircraft reached 220 m (720 ft) above the ocean in the eye. They dumped fuel and followed a United States Air Force WC-130 out of the hurricane. The aircraft sustained major damage and was grounded for the rest of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season.[20][21]
- February 9, 2007 – While inside of an extratropical cyclone, the same WP-3D Orion involved in the Hurricane Hugo incident suffered a compressor stall on three of its four engines at 240 m (790 ft) above the ocean, forcing the crew to shut them down. They were able to restart the engines and return to St. John's. Sea salt reduced the engine performance, which resulted in a compressor stall and a rain cloud the aircraft passed through caused the engines to be cleaned out, resulting in their restarting.[22][23]
In popular culture
A reality television series featuring the USAFR 53rd WRS, entitled Hurricane Hunters, debuted on The Weather Channel in July 2012.[24]
The story of the NOAA flight during Hurricane Hugo was shown as part of the Mayday television show on the during 2015.[25]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ McMahon, Bucky (September 8, 2017). "Into the Eye of the Storm". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ "NOAA hurricane center once housed at MacDill opens in Lakeland". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ "NOAA Hurricane Hunters Have New Home In Lakeland". WUSF Public Media. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
- ^ "Aircraft Meteorological Observation for Tropical Cyclones". www.hko.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
- ^ "HKO and GFS join forces to introduce dropsonde system". www.hko.gov.hk. Archived from the original on 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
- ^ Associated Press. "Storm Patrol Bill Passed to President" Hurricane Archive [dead link] Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "80th Anniversary of the Labor Day Hurricane and first hurricane reconnaissance". Hurricane Research Division. 2015-09-02. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2023-08-19 – via Wordpress.
- ISBN 0-375-70390-X., pp. 98–100
- ^ Kaye, Ken (25 July 2013). "First 'hurricane hunter' flight was made on a bet". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
- ^ "53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron 'Hurricane Hunters' Fact Sheet". 403rd Wing AFRC. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
- ^ Fincher, Lew; Read, Bill. "The 1943 "Surprise" Hurricane". NOAA.gov. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ Marson, 1982, p. 318
- ^ Garland, Harlin (October 1966). "U. S. Navy Hurricane Hunters". ESSA World. Environmental Satellite Services Administration: 7.
- ^ "The 6 lost Hurricane Hunter missions, Part I: the Oct 1, 1945 typhoon" Archived August 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Weather Underground Retrieved: 3 April 2020.
- ^ "The 6 lost Hurricane Hunter missions, Part II: Typhoon Wilma, 1952" Archived 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Weather Underground Retrieved: 3 April 2020.
- ^ "The 6 lost Hurricane Hunter missions, Part III: Typhoon Doris, 1953" Archived 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Weather Underground Retrieved: 3 April 2020.
- ^ "The 6 lost Hurricane Hunter missions, Part IV: Hurricane Janet, 1955" Archived 2020-08-02 at the Wayback Machine Weather Underground Retrieved: 3 April 2020.
- ^ "The 6 lost Hurricane Hunter missions, Part V: Typhoon Ophelia, 1958" Archived 2020-08-01 at the Wayback Machine Weather Underground Retrieved: 3 April 2020.
- ^ Robison, Tom "Whiskey-Charlie!" Archived 2020-08-21 at the Wayback Machine Air Weather Reconnaissance Association website. Retrieved on 2008-09-26.
- S2CID 52062413.
- ^ "25th Anniversary of a 'hairy hop' into Hurricane Hugo". Hurricane Research Division. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ NOAA Mishap Investigation Report (PDF) (Report). SkyBrary. August 9, 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ Ried, Jeffrey S.; Eleuterio, Daniel; Cook, B. J.; Walker, Annette L.; Richardson, Kim A.; Westphal, Douglas L.; Zhang, Jianglong; Damiano, A. B.; McNamara, Richard J. (October 25, 2007). An Assessment of the Meteorological Conditions Leading to the NOAA WP-3D Engine Compressor Stalls of February 9, 2007, Due to Sea Salt Aerosol Particle Fouling (Report). Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ "Official website for the TV series". Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
- ^ "Smithsonian Channel: It's Brighter Here". Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2012) |
Bibliography
- Marson, Peter J., The Lockheed Constellation Series, 1982, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, Tonbridge, Kent, ISBN 0-85130-100-2.
External links
- NOAA Hurricane Hunters
- Hunting Hurricane Hugo Flight of NOAA42
- Navy Hurricane Hunters homepage
- 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron homepage
- 403rd Wing Homepage
- Air Weather Reconnaissance Association homepage
- ASN Accident description 13 OCT 1974 Lockheed WC-130H Hercules 65-0965
- NHC Reconnaissance data archive Archived 2008-08-08 at the Wayback Machine
- The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center homepage
- VW-1 All Hands Alumni Association homepage
- Why and how people fly into hurricanes – USA Today – sidebar, "Fatal flights"