Inside the Storm: How hurricane hunters stay safe flying through storms
Follow @TheAstroNick and @NHC_Atlantic on Twitter for lots of cool Hurricane Hunter updates!
Today I installed a Turbulence Indicator (it's a dropsonde ribbon wrapped around a dropsonde cap and tied to the ceiling) to try to better illustrate the bouncing around. I think it works, personally.#Laura was a hurricane by this point but I hadn't updated the wall. #FlyNOAA pic.twitter.com/VGb3BMOcmU
— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheTropicNick) August 25, 2020
My four favorite photos from today's flight on #NOAA42 into Hurricane #Laura.
— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheTropicNick) August 25, 2020
Looking east (away from #Laura) and west (toward #Laura) at sunrise, the center of circulation, and the sea state near the center. #FlyNOAA pic.twitter.com/eXTV02HANC
Think of dropsondes like weather balloons but in reverse. We launch them from the aircraft, and they float down gathering temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity data. All of those atmospheric parameters that really make tropical systems tick. https://t.co/kixhJrL9JV
— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheTropicNick) August 25, 2020