ORLANDO, Fla. – We’re a month into hurricane season and there’s already been three named storms.
This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration unveiled how uncrewed technology, including planes, could help get results in hurricane forecasting.
Some of the brand-new technology was used for the first time during Hurricane Ian.
That uncrewed aircraft recorded never-before-seen data from just above the surface inside the eyewall of Ian. It also allowed for continuous data to flow when things got too dangerous for even the hurricane hunters.
You may have heard of the Hurricane Hunters flying into the eye of the storm to record critical data. There are limitations, however, of where the crewed aircraft can fly due to crew safety.
That’s where uncrewed aircraft come in.
The Altius 600 drone was deployed for the first time as Hurricane Ian neared the Florida coast.
“The Altius was able to fly at about 200 feet clocking winds at over 200 mph and reporting that in near-real time to the National Hurricane Center.” said Capt. William Mowitt of NOAA’s Uncrewed Systems Operations Center.
Deployed from the parent p3 aircraft, while in the storm the drone can be controlled from more than 160 miles away.
“We flew into the storm and it was a super bumpy ride, super turbulent and then we dropped the Altius and the pilots were concerned we had reached the limits of the p3 when we went in.” said Patrick Sosa, senior mechanical engineer at Andrill.
“If it’s too intense for them to stay in the storm that really tells you that wow this is a crazy storm.” Mowitt said.
The traditional instrument dropped from hurricane hunter aircraft is also getting a new companion.
Technology continues to evolve. This is the traditional dropsonde dropped by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. New is this smaller dropsonde. It’s lighter and it will be able to stay in the storm for a longer period of time.
“They serve a different role in being able to collect data as they move around the storm,” said Dr. Heather Holbach, deputy director NOAA 2023 Hurricane Field Program.
There’s also Saildrones that are able to sail right into the storm and will provide a better understanding of the air and sea interaction.
And below the surface, gliders will gather data of the ocean heat content ahead of the storm.
“There are certain ocean features that lurk beneath the surface that can affect the hurricanes strength as it moves over those features.” said Kathleen Bailey, glider program manager, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.
The goal in 2023 is to get all of those uncrewed systems into the storm at the same time. The never-before-had data from under the sea, surface of the ocean and in the storm would then be used in forecast models to better predict the track and intensity of hurricanes.
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