By Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather Heiney, 403rd Wing
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss., Aug. 25, 2017 — Hurricane
Harvey began as a scattered collection of clouds drifting across the Atlantic
Ocean and in just over a week it has developed into a Category 3 storm.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather
Reconnaissance Squadron based here, better known as the Hurricane Hunters, have
been investigating Hurricane Harvey since Aug. 17. The data they’ve collected
every day has contributed to the National Hurricane Center’s ability to
determine the intensity of the storm and predict where it could go.
Hurricane Harvey is predicted to make landfall in the
vicinity of Corpus Christi on the Texas coast late tonight or early tomorrow,
according to news reports.
President Donald J. Trump and his senior staff are closely
monitoring Hurricane Harvey and the preparedness and response efforts of state,
local, and federal officials, according to a statement issued by the White
House today.
Today, the president was briefed by Federal Emergency
Management Agency Administrator Brock Long, Acting Secretary of Homeland
Security Elaine Duke, Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor Thomas P.
Bossert, and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, the White House
statement said.
Yesterday, the president committed to providing assistance
as appropriate during phone conversations with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, according to the statement.
Each 53rd WRS storm mission is flown in a WC-130J Super
Hercules aircraft by a crew made up of at least two pilots, a navigator, an
aerial reconnaissance weather officer and a loadmaster. Many of these Air Force
reservists travel from around the country to be a part of the mission, and only
a small percent of the squadron are full-time air reserve technicians. The rest
are traditional reservists who show up when called upon and put their civilian
jobs and home lives on hold to fly into storms.
Monitoring Harvey
During the 10 flights into Hurricane Harvey so far, the
reservists have flown through the eye of the storm dozens of times. During each
pass through the eye, the loadmaster releases a device called a dropsonde that
measures wind speed and direction, temperature, dew point and pressure. Data
collected transmitted to the NHC every ten minutes throughout the duration of
the mission.
“The data we collect is essential to the NCH right now
because the capabilities of satellites and drones are just not there yet,” said
Air Force Maj. Kimberly Spusta, a 53rd WRS aerial reconnaissance weather
officer. “To go into the center of the storm to get that data is critical, so
the NHC can have the most accurate forecasts possible.”
Hurricane Harvey in particular is a quickly developing
storm. After entering the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, it took less than
24 hours for the system to grow from a tropical depression into a hurricane.
“As the Hurricane Hunters our data is time sensitive and
critical for the NHC,” said Air Force Maj. Kendall Dunn, a 53rd WRS pilot.
“This storm is rapidly intensifying. Between the last flight that landed and
our flight taking off, the conditions have changed, so it’s important that we
continue to send the NCH the most current and accurate data we can.”
Past Storms
Air Force Col. Robert Stanton, 403rd Wing vice commander,
said that it’s important to take NHC watches and warnings seriously, because
he’s seen, firsthand, the damage that a storm like Hurricane Katrina caused
after it made landfall on the Gulf Coast in late August 2005.
“There were so many people that thought because their home
had made it through Hurricane Camille in 1969 that they were safe,” he said.
“But even though Katrina was only a Category 3 storm and Camille was a
[Category 5], the amount of water that she swept up the Gulf Coast was
devastating.”
The 53rd WRS will continue to fly Hurricane Harvey and
collect data until the storm makes landfall. To stay up to date on the most current
forecast and tasked missions visit
https://www.403wg.afrc.af.mil/media/hurricane-center.
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