No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Results
Reserve & National Guard
SUBSCRIBE FREE
Reserve & National Guard

Hurricane Hunters’ mission helps residents make life-saving decisions

Lucretia Cunningham
by Lucretia Cunningham
November 10, 2021
hurricane hunters

Staff Sgt. Keith Taylor, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron loadmaster, prepares dropsondes for the storm as the Hurricane Hunters fly into Hurricane Sam, Sept. 27. Hurricane Sam had downgraded to a category 3 hurricane when the AF Reserve Hurricane Hunters entered, but was intensifying before they headed back. The Hurricane Hunters gather data weather data from dropsondes and aircraft sensors, which is given to the National Hurricane Center to assist them with their forecasts and storm warnings. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jessica L. Kendziorek)

Events leading to Aug. 29, 2021, were imperative as Hurricane Ida strengthened to a Category 4 storm and barreled toward Southeast Louisiana. While 150 mph winds threatened citizens’ livelihoods, airmen from the 403rd Wing’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron were on continuous, around-the-clock missions inside the storm’s eye to collect atmospheric information.  

“We’re here to provide weather reconnaissance data to the relevant government agencies,” said Lt. Col. Mark Withee, a navigator with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. “This is one of the few things the military does on a regular basis that provides a direct, tangible benefit for the American public.”  

The data influences National Weather Service forecasts, weather warnings and evacuation orders. And the squadron is unique in that it’s the only one within the Department of Defense with this specific mission. 

Stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, military leaders there depend on the Hurricane Hunters to ultimately decide what to do about expensive military aircraft and equipment in a severe storm path.

Hurricane Hunters always on call

During Hurricane Ida, the team evacuated its aircraft from the Gulf Coast to fly missions out of the Kelly Field flight line at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. 

The squadron was again called into action in late September when Hurricane Sam quickly developed over the Atlantic Ocean. While a reserve unit with traditional reserve airmen, the hunters maintain full-time crews who are always on and ready to go, during the Atlantic hurricane season.  

Within 16 hours of receiving the call from the National Hurricane Center, three crews and three aircraft from the 53rd were deployed to a forward operating base in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the span of five days, the airmen oversaw 10 flights into Hurricane Sam. The team flew its last mission into the storm on Oct. 2, 2021, after the Category 4 hurricane was downgraded and its location no longer threatened to make landfall.  

hurricane hunters
Maj. Joyce Hirai, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aerial reconnaissance weather officer, checks the data from the dropsonde prior to sending it to the National Hurricane Center as the Hurricane Hunters, fly into Hurricane Sam, Sept. 27. Photo by Jessica L. Kendziorek.

On missions into the eye, navigators like Withee operate as radar experts at stations inside the C-130 cockpit, ensuring pilots make it through points of low visibility. The crew endures the worst turbulence as they break through to the eye or the “calm center” of the storm and where wind speeds drop from 120 mph to zero.  

“In a really picturesque storm, there’ll be clear, blue sky above you, and a lot of times you can see the full ocean,” Withee said. “It’s basically smooth flying for that period when you’re in the eye of the storm.”  

Weather recon loadmasters drop parachute-borne sensors, or dropsondes, at various points inside the weather event. Weather officers then receive the data from dropsondes and other equipment systems attached to the aircraft to relay back to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).  

RELATED: Fort Hood soldiers receive award for Hurricane Ida humanitarian mission

Military reconnaissance typically means the information collected on missions is considered sensitive. However, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron is also unique as a public-facing recon unit whose data is archived on the NWS website, and their taskings, or where they’re being called to, are displayed on the NHC’s website. 

“Our mission has a direct effect on a lot of peoples’ lives every year,” Withee said. “It’s pretty easy to see when we go out on a mission, how that can impact the forecast, and, in turn, how people can use those forecasts to make decisions in their lives.”  

For more information about the Hurricane Hunters, visit the 403rd Wing website.

Read comments
Tags: 403rd Wing’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance SquadronAir Force ReserveAtlantic hurricane seasonHurricaneHurricane Huntershurricane idaHurricane SamNational Hurricane Center
Lucretia Cunningham

Lucretia Cunningham

Lucretia Cunningham is a freelance multimedia journalist and Air Force Reserve public affairs specialist. After serving over 10 years as a medic in the active duty Air Force, Lucretia cross-trained to public affairs in the reserve component and attended the Defense Information School at Ft. Meade, Maryland. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and has reported in Virginia’s Historic Triangle and Hampton Roads region.

Related Posts

‘Will never happen again’: National Guard chief assures lawmakers after top secret docs leaked

by Military.com
4 days ago
0
Hokanson

NGB Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson vowed that another leak like the breach allegedly carried out by Jack Teixeira won't happen again.

Read more

Reserve Marine foils DC-area human trafficking ring hours before fitness test

by AmeriForce Exclusive
2 weeks ago
0
Marines of Marine Advisor Company A, Force Headquarters Group, take part in a military awards ceremony on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., May 5, 2023. One of the four Marines being recognized thwarted a transnational criminal human trafficking organization while drilling with his unit that weekend by identifying the signs of exploitation and ultimately freeing a handful of young teenage women with the Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force. Provided by MCAC-A

A Reserve Marine officer saw what he believed were indications of human trafficking & helped save girls allegedly forced into...

Read more

Guardsmen, reservists who retire early could get cheaper health care under Senate bill

by Military.com
3 weeks ago
0
Airmen of the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing take part in a 9/11 20th anniversary ceremony in Sioux City, Iowa September 11, 2021. Ter Haar/U.S. Air National Guard

Guardsmen and reservists who retire before age 60 would be eligible for low-cost military health care plans under a bi-partisan a...

Read more

5 ways I balance being a reservist and a mom

by Emily Solberg
4 weeks ago
0
balance

As both a mother and an Army reservist, I'm always striving to find balance between each role. And sometimes that...

Read more

Army Reserve Chief focuses on readiness during senior-leader summit

by AmeriForce Exclusive
4 weeks ago
0
Army Reserve

Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jody J. Daniels recently hosted the Army Reserve's Yearly Training Brief at Joint Base...

Read more

Should civilian and private employers provide paid military leave?

by Nikki Davidson
1 month ago
0
Military leave

Several guardsmen and reservists who missed work due to military leave have launched a new mission – convince a jury...

Read more

Ads

Let's get social

The RNG Drill

News delivered directly to your inbox

Let's connect!

ABOUT US

  • OUR STORY
  • OUR TEAM
  • OUR WRITERS

MAGAZINE

  • GET PRINT
  • GET DIGITAL
  • GET THE NEWSLETTER

ADVERTISE

  • GET OUR MEDIA KIT
  • PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT

SUBMISSIONS

  • PITCH US
  • SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Never miss out on the latest stories.

© 2021 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Privacy Policy | Terms | Site by Swiss Commerce

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

Thank you for your interest in The Reserve & National Guard Magazine!

No Result
View All Results
  • NEWS
  • YOUR CAREER
    • UNIT TRAINING
    • DEPLOYMENT
    • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • RECRUITING & RETENTION
    • ENTREPRENEUR
    • TRANSITION
  • EDUCATION
  • MILITARY LIFE
    • MILITARY SPOUSES
    • MILITARY KIDS
    • PARENTING
  • OFF DUTY
    • ENTERTAINMENT
    • TRAVEL
  • HEALTH
    • FITNESS
    • MEDICINE
    • MENTAL HEALTH
  • SPORTS
  • OPINION
  • HISTORY
  • MONEY
    • PERSONAL FINANCE
    • BENEFITS
  • GET THE MAGAZINE
    • PRINT MAGAZINES
    • DIGITAL MAGAZINES
    • GET THE NEWSLETTER
  • ABOUT US
    • MEET OUR TEAM
    • OUR AUTHORS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
    • SUBMIT YOUR STORY
    • PITCH US
    • CONTACT

© 2022 Reserve & National Guard by AmeriForce. Site by SCBW