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Airmen from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters, flying a WC-130J Hercules like this one, have been tracking Hurricane Dolly as it approached the Texas coast line. The Air Force Reserve squadron is part of the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The data collected by the Hurricane Hunters increases the accuracy of the National Hurricane Center forecast by 30 percent. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett)
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Hurricane Hunters track Dolly
Posted 7/23/2008
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by Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
7/23/2008 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Hurricane Hunters from the Air Force Reserve Command's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew repeatedly through Hurricane Dolly as it headed toward the Texas coast, relaying critical data to National Weather Service forecasters in Miami.
Six-person crews from the squadron have been tracking the storm since July 16, when it was a tropical disturbance over St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, said 1st Lt. Douglas Gautrau, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer on the Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
Since then, squadron aircrews have been flying their WC-130J Hercules aircraft 24/7 out of their base at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., delivering near-real-time data to the National Weather Service.
Lieutenant Gautrau and his fellow crewmembers took off from Keesler at about 7 p.m. July 22 for a 10-hour mission, crisscrossing Dolly in what Lieutenant Gautrau described as an "alpha pattern."
They used sophisticated onboard instruments and small "dropsonde" canisters dropped by parachute to collect the most accurate measurements of the hurricane's location and intensity. The canisters relay details about barometric pressure, wind speed and direction and other measurements to the aircraft during their descent until they hit the water, Lieutenant Gautrau explained.
After a quick quality-control check on the data collected, the crew forwarded it every 10 minutes to the National Hurricane Center.
The aircrews, which consist of an aircraft commander and copilot, flight engineer, navigator, weather officer and dropsonde operator, fly through rough turbulence and heavy rains during the missions. The heaviest turbulence occurs in the "eye wall," the circular area directly around the hurricane's eye.
Lieutenant Gautrau described last night's turbulence as "moderate," but "nothing too bad" as the aircraft encountered 75-knot wind speeds. "It can get pretty bumpy," he said.
Toward the end of the mission, Hurricane Dolly had strengthened, and its leading edge was approaching the Gulf Coast near the Texas-Mexico border. Heavy rain and sustained 95 mph winds pounded the coast as Dolly's eye headed toward Brownsville, Texas.
For Lieutenant Gautrau, the flight through Hurricane Dolly was a rite of passage: his first hurricane mission without the benefit of an instructor watching over his shoulder.
"At some points, I'd think, 'Holy cow. I'm in a hurricane,'" he said. "Other times, I'd think, 'Holy cow. I still have to do my job.'"
But with that mission now complete, Lieutenant Gautrau said, he's thrilled to have "the best weather job out there." A native of New Orleans, he said he understands the impact of severe weather and knows he and his fellow crewmembers are giving the National Weather Service the best data possible so it can make accurate forecasts.
"I get a lot of joy out of this job, and I feel that what we are doing is a great benefit to the public," he said.
Officials predict rain accumulations of four to eight inches, with isolated deluges of 15 inches, over much of southern Texas during the next few days. Coastal flooding of four to six feet above normal tide levels, with dangerous battering waves, was predicted north of the storm's landfall.
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