According to NOAA, Hurricane Ian became the 15th Billion-Dollar disaster in 2022. Landfall impacts from Ian are still being felt, as residents of the Florida coast begin rebuilding their homes where severe flooding and damage took place. Though devastating, Hurricane Ian spurred a newfound interest in forecast and risk communication in the media, and provided…
Research reveals direct measurements of wind and temperature from aircraft provide the highest valued inputs into Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models compared to weather balloon radiosondes, satellites, and ground-based, weather observing stations. However, aircraft data has its shortcomings including data spareness, clustering around major airports, and relatively high latency, which constrains its full potential to…
In partnership with NOAA, Saildrone Inc. is deploying seven ocean drones to collect data from hurricanes during the 2022 hurricane season with the goal of improving hurricane forecasting. For the first year, two saildrones will track hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the biggest challenges to hurricane forecasting is predicting rapid intensification, when hurricane…
The Observations Program at the Weather Program Office has partnered with WindBorne Systems, Inc. to fund the development of an advanced weather balloon. This technology offers a low cost platform enabling collection of surface to stratosphere weather data in lesser-sampled regions. Long Range Sampling and Dynamic Altitude Control With an average flight time of 7…
Radar is an essential observing technology for weather forecasting and research. It provides critical data for weather forecasts and warnings, benefits meteorological research and aids the National Weather Service’s (NWS) delivery of impact-based decision support services to partners. This includes those in the emergency management and water resources communities, and federal, state, local, tribal, and…