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Hurricane Hunting For T.S. Gabrielle

By Alan Sealls

News 5 Chief Meteorologist Alan Sealls and Photojournalist Jud Hulon ride along with the Hurricane Hunters to investigate Tropical Storm Gabrielle Hurricane Hunting For T.S. Gabrielle

Published: Sun, September 09, 2007 - 11:20 pm Last Updated: Mon, September 10, 2007 - 7:06 pm

As the Gulf Coast sleeps, the USAF Hurricane Hunters head to Tropical Storm Gabrielle. This is a military mission. Preparation includes studying charts, maps, and data to create a flight plan, as we approach 1100 hours zulu. At Keesler AFB, home of the 403rd Wing, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, we travel the flight line to our WC-130J. In the cockpit the pilot, co-pilot, and navigator check the plane, instructions, directions, and gear. Commander Kevin Mcluen says the purpose of the mission is to get the weather officer to the center of the storm. One by one the engines start as the sun rises. Within a short time it's wheels up. We travel east over Mobile.

Radio traffic indicates that the storm has strengthened so the crew debates flying a lower or medium altitude. As we approach the storm the dropsonde operator, Technical Sergeant Scott Blair, readies the GPS weather sensors which measure temperature, wind, location and pressure as they fall to the water's surface. Data is fed back to the National Hurricane Center to help pinpoint the storm. Radar is also used. Meanwhile the weather officer, Lieutenant Colonel Val Hendry monitors other continuous weather data taken by the C130's probes. We show this to you on our Hurrtrak computer. You see winds along the flight path. Good old fashioned observations compliment the data. Computers can't do it all. Both the dropsonde operator and the weather officer are able to instantly send their data and visual observations to the National Hurricane Center. The smallest piece of information can change anything from the official storm coordinates to the designation of a hurricane versus a tropical storm.

Captain Drew Clark, Navigator explains how his job is to plan the trip by taking account weather, storm location, and fuel requirements so that the weather readings can be as detailed and accurate as possible. In Gabrielle the winds are about 50mph and the cloud pattern is not circular so it makes it a little harder to locate the center. We bank hard and turn around. Dropsonde operator Scott Blair explains how we are taking multiple passes to find the center. This is to make sure the center is exact. The pilots keep watch too, also to avoid hazards. One of the pilots might be your neighbor. Squadron Commander Doug Otto is a native Mobilian. Gabrielle did not strengthen too fast so our mission was cut short. We returned to Keesler by 1800 zulu. That’s all in a days work for the Hurricane Hunters in their flying office.