5 Chances to See Hurricane Hunter Aircraft

C-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft (Credit: NOAA)

Hurricane Preparedness

East Coast Awareness Tour
Week of May19th

Public invited to tour Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft

The NOAA Hurricane Hunters have an exciting and important activity next week -- a hurricane awareness tour! One of our P-3s will be traveling to Corpus Christi, Tex.; Houston, Tex.; New Orleans, La.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Tampa, Fla., with experts from the NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center to raise awareness about storm threats and the danger of being caught without a #hurricane plan

Tour Schedule:

• .Mon., May 19: Corpus Christi Intl Airport, Corpus Christi, Tex., 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Tue., May 20: Ellington Airport, Houston, Tex., 3:00 p.m. to 4:30p.m.
• Wed., May 21: Lakefront Airport, New Orleans, La., 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Thur., May 22: Tallahassee Airport, Tallahassee, Fla., 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Fri., May 23: Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Fla., 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

NOAA has been conducting hurricane awareness tours like this for 30 years, alternating between Gulf and Atlantic coasts.  Hurricane season begins June 1st and continues through November 30th.  Bill Read, director of NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, and his team will be on hand to conduct tours of the NOAA WP-3D Orion turboprop aircraft which is used primarily by scientists on research missions to study various elements of a hurricane, flying through the eye of the storm several times each flight.

The aircraft is piloted by officers of the NOAA Corps — one of the seven uniformed services of the United States — and based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.  NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit them on Facebook.
 

Hurricane Preparedness Week during 2014
May 25th through May31st

For additional information about hurricanes, including useful links, see the static  "Hurricane Zone" tab above.  Last season we monitored several tropical storms which fortunately weren't as devastating as in some past years.  None of the storms made landfall in the United States.  Also see past year's Hurricane Preparedness series of articles:  Hurricane Preparedness for Cruisers