May 7, 2024 Albany NY: I went to Albany International Airport to catch the 2024 Hurricane Awareness Tour. Two Hurricane Hunter aircraft were on display, one from the USAF 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and one from NOAA. The purpose of the tour:
Hurricane experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) & the United States Air Force (USAF) will visit five U.S. East Coast locations, flying aboard a USAF Reserve WC-130J hurricane hunter aircraft and a NOAA WP-3D Orion aircraft, to raise awareness of the impacts from tropical cyclones threats and the danger of being caught without a personal hurricane plan.
Disclosure: I have a family member who serves with the 53rd WRS.
Air & Space Forces Magazine reports that the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is facing increasing demand for its services. Better known as the Hurricane Hunters, they fly into storm systems to get vital data for the computers that crank out storm forecasts. At the present time there is a problem: they need more aircraft like the one shown above: a WC-130J Hercules.
Information poster for the Hurricane Hunters.
...As hurricane season gets longer and storms roam farther north, the Airmen of the 53rd find themselves flying more storms farther from their home station with the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. There is no rest in the winter, when the squadron travels to the Pacific to gather data on atmospheric rivers: massive bodies of vapor that dump snow and rain on the west coast. With just 10 aging WC-130J aircraft and 20 crews, the Airmen and their equipment are feeling the pinch.
“The resources we’re working with today were established and set in 1996 and no significant changes have happened since then,” Dyke said. “At that point it was resourced for a six-month hurricane mission. We are now a 10-month operational mission and a two-month road show. … To be honest, it’s not enough time for the aircraft.”
emphasis added
Looking into the back of a WC-130J where the weather data stations are located.
The May 6, 2024 report by David Roza details how the WC-130 missions are increasingly important. They fly into hurricanes and atmospheric rivers to get data that can’t be obtained any other way: air pressure, air and water temperatures, wind speeds, radar imagery, and other data. With climate change increasing, storms get bigger, grow faster, and are more frequent. With hurricanes hitting the west coast and atmospheric rivers bringing flooding and record snow, it’s not just about storms in the Atlantic and the Caribbean these days.
The data these planes obtain make more accurate forecasts possible, saving lives and money. The demand for their capabilities is increasing:
...“The hurricane center moving from a three-day to a five-day to a seven-day forecast is great, especially for me as a coastal resident,” Dyke said. “But with that comes added work, because now we’re going to be flying the storm earlier in its development.”
The 53rd saw an 18 percent increase in demand flying hurricanes since 2018, the major said. They are also flying into potential tropical cyclones to gather early data, and the last few seasons they have flown up to Canada as storms travel farther north. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also has Hurricane Hunters who fly into storms, but they gather different sets of data.
There are now times when the squadron has to pick and choose where to send aircraft because there aren’t enough to keep up with multiple incoming storms. The increasing work load on planes that are around 25 years old is taking a toll — more time is needed for maintenance. It’s also increasing the strain on the crews and support staff who end up spending more time away from home.
The squadron could use more and newer aircraft, upgraded equipment for better data and faster real time data links, and more people to staff it all. The problem is funding. There’s only so much money to go around across all the Air Force reserve units. The Navy supplies some funding since they also make use of the data; other agencies that use it also kick in. It’s not keeping up with current needs though and the demand is only going to increase.
...The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act requires a report on whether the Hurricane Hunters and their counterparts in NOAA need more resources to carry out their mission through 2035. The report was due 90 days after the bill was signed into law on Dec. 22, but Maj. Gen. C. McCauley von Hoffman, the deputy chief of the Air Force Reserve, said it’s still under development.
“I think that there’s recognition, particularly in the coastal state delegations, that this is an important mission that has to be resourced,” Hoffman said. “This request asks ‘are there enough funds to maintain these aircraft, are there enough of them, where does the funding come from, and do we have it right?’”
Hurricane season starts June 1, 2024. The 53rd will be doing its best, but the forecast for 2024 is for a very active season, via Yale Climate Connections.
An extremely active Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2024, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast, issued April 4. Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with co-authors Dr. Michael Bell, Alexander DesRosiers, and Levi Silvers, the CSU team is calling for 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes, five major hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of 210 (171% of average). In comparison, the long-term averages for the period 1991-2020 were 14.4 named storms, 7.2 hurricanes, 3.2 major hurricanes, and an ACE of 123.
The 53rd WRS isn’t the only group flying hurricane missions; NOAA also has its own dedicated aircraft. One of them was also on display at the Albany International Airport, a WP-3D Orion turboprop. NOAA has two of them, named Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog. Kermit was the aircraft on the tour.
Kermit the Frog, a NOAA WP-3D Orion Hurricane Hunter on display 5-7-24 at Albany, NY
Nose art on Kermit
Kermit is a heavily modified version of the military aircraft that was derived from the Lockheed L-188 Electra airliner. The design has several features that are an advantage for these missions: a high power to weight ratio, short wings, and excellent performance. The two Orion versions flown by NOAA are unique and are loaded with all kinds of sensors. Like the WC-130s they are able to drop instrument packages — dropsondes — as well as being equipped with several radar systems and other specialized gear.
They were rebuilt in 2015-2017, getting new wings and engines, and upgraded instruments. This is expected to extend their service life out to 2032-2037. Eventually they’ll need to be replaced — the question is what aircraft will step into the role? The need is only going to get greater.
Their mission profiles typically call for penetrating hurricanes at low levels through areas that can produce extreme turbulence. A tour of Kermit’s cabin revealed among other things padding on all the walls and the ceiling, and an overhead grip bar running the length of the cabin. One of the crew members pointed to a particular slight bend in the bar — from when a life raft broke loose in extreme turbulence and slammed into it hard enough to dent it. (See the story below.)
Cabin interior of Kermit, looking forward. Note the padding, and the overhead grip bar. That’s the one that got dented flying into Hurricane Hugo.
An extreme event during an Orion mission occurred in September 1989, on a flight into Hurricane Hugo. During the approach, the radar went off line. The crew got it operating again before attempting to penetrate the eye wall of the hurricane at a low altitude — but because of the temporary outage, they didn't realize they hadn’t calibrated the radar correctly and ended up flying into far more severe turbulence than they expected.
There’s a long account of what happened from Dr. Jeff Masters, flight meteorologist on that flight; here’s an excerpt.
...Then, disaster. Thick dark clouds suddenly envelop the aircraft. A titanic fist of wind, three times the force of gravity, smashes us. I am thrown into the computer console, bounce off, and for one terrifying instant find myself looking DOWN at a precipitous angle at Sean across the aisle from me.
A second massive jolt rocks the aircraft. Gear loosened by the previous turbulence flies about the inside the aircraft, bouncing off walls, ceiling, and crew members. Next to Terry Schricker, our 200-pound life raft breaks loose and hurtles into the ceiling. Neil Rain fends off screwdrivers, wrenches, and his airborne toolbox with his arms. The locked drawers in the galley rip open, and a cooler loaded with soft drink cans explodes into the air, showering Alan Goldstein with ice and 12-ounce cans. Hugh Willoughby watches as invisible fingers pry loose his portable computer from its mounting, and hurl it into the ceiling, ripping a gash in the tough ceiling fabric. At the radar station, Peter Dodge shields himself and the Barbados reporter from two flying briefcases. Next to them, Bob Burpee grabs two airborne boxes of computer tapes, but has no more hands to grab a third box of tapes that smashes against the ceiling, sending the tapes caroming through the cabin.
Kermit’s record of Hurricanes and Countries it has flown to.
A third terrific blow, almost six times the force of gravity, staggers the airplane. Clip boards, flight bags, and headsets sail past my head as I am hurled into the console. Terrible thundering crashing sounds boom through the cabin; I hear crew members crying out. I scream inwardly. "This is what it feels like to die in battle", I think. We are going down. The final moments of the five hurricane hunter missions that never returned must have been like this.
The aircraft lurches out of control into a hard right bank. We plunge towards the ocean, our number three engine in flames. Debris hangs from the number four engine.
There’s a cliche describing flying as hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.
The crew survived, or we wouldn’t have this account, but it took flying skill, luck, and help from a WC-130 Hercules that was also working the storm. The Herk came into the eye at a level much lower than they normally fly, gave the Orion a look-see to evaluate the damage, and then made several flights through the eyewall risking their own aircraft to find the least turbulent route out for the crippled Orion.
When the Orion was being gone over later to evaluate damage and eventual repair, it was found to be in remarkably good shape considering what it had flown through. It’s the plane shown here, still flying hurricane missions.
Hurricane Hunters on display at Albany International Airport 5-7-24. NOAA WP-3D Orion “Kermit” in the foreground, WC-130J Hercules in the background from the USAF 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.
The next time you’re watching the news of a hurricane approaching landfall, remember the people who fly these planes into the storms so those of us on the ground can know what’s coming and be prepared for it.
2024 Hurricane Awareness Tour Stops
The tour is a joint operation by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and NOAA. Two stops remain on the 5 city swing that went through Portland, ME (May 6), Albany, NY (May 7), Norfolk, VA (May 8).
May 9: Thursday, May 9, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Charleston International Airport, Charleston, SC
May 10: Friday, May 10, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Orlando/Sanford International Airport,Orlando, FL
Check local listings for more details.
Here’s several links: National Weather Service with details about the Orlando tour stop and the aircraft. Air Force Reserve media advisory for the tour with contact info for the media.
