Inside the Storm - Hurricane Warnings provided by Hurricane Hunters
This week, Claims Journal reported on the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. They told the story of the 1944 bet that changed the way we receive severe weather data and warnings.
Back in 1944, Lt Coronel Duckworth made a bet that he could fly an American single engine aircraft into a hurricane without the plane falling apart. This was the start of the Hurricane Hunters. Duckworth was a former airline pilot who taught the Army Air Force how to fly through bad weather during the war. Among other things, he taught pilots how to reduce risks through skill, knowledge and careful planning. Duckworth was successful in the bet and realized he could collect valuable weather data from inside the storm.
Duckworth’s challenge has now evolved into the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Air Force Reserves. Today, this Squadron is based out of Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, and flies ten Lockheed-Martin WC-130J aircrafts into the eye of storms to gather weather data for the National Hurricane Center.
When a storm is beginning to form, the National Hurricane Center sends these Hurricane Hunters to investigate the system. The Hunters determine if it is a closed system with winds rotating in a counterclockwise position and gather information on the severity of the storm. The planes fly in between 500 and 1500 feet above the ocean’s surface for a low level investigation but increase the height for more major storms -- 10,000 feet is the entry point for a Category 3+ Hurricane. As the Hurricane Hunters approach the strongest winds of the Hurricane they gradually turn into the wind, this is called crabbing, until they punch through into the calm eye of the storm. The aircrafts, without any special reinforcements, are suitable for these missions.
While in the storm, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer collects data from the storm environment. The data is collected from aircraft sensors every second. Once in the center of the storm “sondes” are released from the aircraft. The sondes provide an atmospheric profile to the Hunters and collect the data within the storm the same way as a weather balloon works, except sondes collect the information while dropping down to the ocean.
As the sondes are falling, and until they hit the water, a rate of twice per second, they send temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, and wind direction readings. The weather officer on the aircraft is then able to send the information back to the National Hurricane Center with the exact latitude and longitude of the storm and analyze if the storm is getting stronger or weaker.
The data collected inside the storm is very valuable. The National Hurricane Center estimates that this data is 30% more accurate than projections gathered without going into the storm. The data allows the Hurricane Center to provide better information to citizens and more accurately order evacuations. The Hurricane Hunters have the ability to provide the most accurate forecasts and paths of the storms. Satellites are good detectors of storms but because they can’t determine interior barometric pressure or exact wind speeds, could be indicating a Category 2 storm that might really be a Category 3.
Hurricane Season starts in eleven days and this year as you watch the weather and wait for updates from the National Hurricane Center, you can now visualize how the information is gathered. The Hunters are required to be prepared to handle three different storms in one day, scoping the storms twice daily to make sure the most accurate weather data is available to the public.
If you are curious about what it would be like to fly into a storm, the Hurricane Hunters provide a Cyber Flight Demonstration on their website.
The quote, "Back in 1944, Lt Colonel Duckworth made a bet that he could fly an American single engine aircraft into a hurricane without the plane falling apart.", wasn't exactly correct.
Just to clear it up, the date of the first flight into a hurricane was July 27, 1943, not 1944. There really was no specific "bet" but rather that the RAF pilots would toast them at that evenings "Cocktail Hour" at the Base's Officer's Club, after they safely returned from the flight in proving the ruggedness of the AT-6 Texan Trainer aircraft, that they had been flying. Duckworth, the Chief Instructor was teaching the new skill of instrument flying, which would allow the RAF to launch bomber raids against Germany in more types of weather conditions as well as gain better accuracy during night raids.
I have researched this hurricane for many years, including this first flight, and have interviewed the navigator of that first flight, Retired USAF Col. Ralph O'Hair many times in his home in Tucker, GA. At the time of the flight, Ralph was a 2nd Lt. Navigator at Duckworth's Instrument Flying School based at Bryan Field in Texas. He has always stated that there was never really a "bet", but rather, the RAF "students" were tired of flying the small trailer and wanted to fly the latest fighters and bombers that were on the base instead. Many of those "students, were not only very experienced pilots of the RAF, but veterans of the Battle of Britain, some "Aces", and some also members of the RAF High Command. When reports of the tropical cyclone possibly headed in their direction were issued that morning during breakfast, they were told that the training planes may have to be flown out of the storm's path. That news, once again started the students complaining about their training aircraft and now made comments about how fragile the plane was, as it would have to be moved away for its own safety due to some thunderstorm. Remember please that England doesn't really experience a true hurricane due to it's northen latitude location, so they really didn't understand the seriousness of what a hurricane threat was.
So to prove not only the usefulness of instrument flying in "weather", Duckworth turned to O'Hair, who just happened to be the only navigator at the time having breakfast, and said "let's go", and off they went into the air towards the hurricane to prove the worthiness of the Trainer aircraft to the students.
Afterward, there was never another complaint concerning the AT-6, nor the value of Instrument Flying... the rest is history.
Hi Lew-
Thanks for the clarifcation and additional background information. It is great to hear more about the history of Hurricane Hunters and I am impressed with all the information you have gathered. Thank you so much for sharing this with the readers and thanks for reading my post.