Satellites have come a long way in providing accurate data to a weather forecaster about tropical cyclones. Even with advances, it is still necessary to get data from inside a storm, things a satellite is not yet able to detect. For that, the job is handed over to the crews of the hurricane hunters. These crews fly in and around tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and the Pacific to gather essential data used to determine a cyclone’s position and strength. On one of these many crews you will find Meteorologist Nicole Mitchell. Recently one of our Weatherboy Meteorologists had a chance to talk to Nicole about what it is like to be on one of those missions.
Weatherboy:
>>> When did you first get interested in the weather?
Mitchell:
>>> I joined the Air National Guard to help pay for college. One of the jobs they offered me was “Weather Observer”, and that sounded like a good fit for me since I enjoyed science and the outdoors. Clearly I enjoyed it, so while
also attending college I returned to the military’s forecasting program and earned my meteorology credentials.
Weatherboy:
>>> In addition to the Meteorology course work, what is required to become a meteorologist with the Air Force?
Mitchell:
>>> Military weather is a lot more tailored to our operations, so for example very detailed forecasts for missions that might include exact landing weather requirements for a certain aircraft. The Air Force also covers weather support for the Army, so many of us that have also done that have training and experience providing weather support in tactical situations. Besides the general requirements for a military Weather Officer, Hurricane Hunter Meteorologists (ARWOs- Aerial Reconnaissance Weather Officers) are aircrew members, so we have pass more omprehensive physicals, attend survival schools and learn about the systems of our aircraft (WC-130J). Then we have additional meteorological instruction, especially in elements of tropical meteorology, and work and fly with instructors to experience various stages of a storm prior to being certified to handle storm missions solo.
Weatherboy:
>>> How did you become a flight meteorologist on one of the hurricane hunters? Were you assigned, did you request it, is it competitive with others seeking the same position?
Mitchell:
>>> Applying to be a Hurricane Hunter is completely voluntary. All of us that are flying into storms do so because we want to. Qualified applicants have to apply, be selected, and pass a flight physical, so it can be very competitive depending on how many applicants there are when a position opens. Meteorologists who have previous military experience often have a better chance.
Weatherboy:
>>> What is a typical flight like for you?
Mitchell:
>>> We always come in a couple hours prior to a mission for things like finalizing the flight plan, coordinating with the National Hurricane Center (NHC), and getting the aircraft ready to launch. The missions themselves vary by the type of storm and where it is. On average, a mission is 10 hours, with about 6 hours inside a storm plus flight time to and from the storm, which varies greatly depending on how far away the storm is. We fly two types of taskings. “Invests” where we investigate a disturbance to see if there is an actual low-level circulation, flown at low levels (500′-1500′). If we already have a system with circulation, then we fly a “Fix” to determine the exact center coordinates. These are flown anywhere from low levels to up around 10,000′ (the 700mb level) depending on how intense the storm is. Otherwise, we’re gathering critical data through our mission including wind, pressure, temperature both from instruments on the plane and also through an instrument we release from the plane called a dropsonde. Information such as maximum winds in the eyewall and exact coordinates and pressure in the center of a storm are critical pieces of information to know both what the storm is doing currently and to use in forecasting. All of the information we gather is actually being sent to the NHC as we fly so they have the latest data for the work they do.
Weatherboy:
>>> What is the scariest experience you have had on a flight?
Mitchell:
>>> I can’t actually say I’ve ever been scared…although that doesn’t mean there weren’t maybe a few times I should have been! But, when a problem arises with the aircraft, we’re usually all focused on solving it. If it’s a rough flight situation, like a storm knocking the aircraft around, I know it’s outside of my control and I trust our pilots to do their job. We also do everything as safely as possible and are using a very sturdy, trusted aircraft, so even though our job can sound scary, most of us have a healthy perspective.
Weatherboy:
>>> What is something unusual about your experience on a hurricane hunter?
Mitchell:
>>> Yes, some missions can be intense, with what you’d imagine….turbulence, heavy rain, even lightning or hail at times. But that’s not every flight. Some flights are pretty calm at flight level. The other misconception I hear a lot is that people think we fly over the storm, when we’re actually inside it the whole time. We actually go inside the storms because the data is much more valuable when we’re taking live readings from inside.
Weatherboy:
>>> How important is the information you collect? Do you feel it is worth the risk, if there is one? Do you feel like you accomplish something after each and every flight?
Mitchell:
>>> Our flights are very valuable to the hurricane forecasting process, so it’s a really gratifying job. The data we collect is always going into the computer models to improve the storm forecasts. But there are also times where something we observe like a dramatic pressure change or wind reading immediately results in an update to the storm intensity. So in those cases it’s even more evident how beneficial our data is.and you know what you’re doing is directly helping to save lives.
Weatherboy:
>>> What do you say to a young boy/girl who says they want to fly into hurricanes.
Mitchell:
>>> Go for it! We can always use great people. Specifically for Meteorology, science and math is important even prior to college, and it’s good to stay fit and active if you’re looking at the military. As I mentioned, for Meteorologists, you have a slightly better chance if you
have previous military and/or military weather experience. But, we also have Loadmasters, Navigators, and Pilots who all fly into storms. We also have counterparts at NOAA who do some of the storm flights as well.
