Hurricane Hunters fly nonstop into Ike

Published Sept. 12, 2008
By Maj. Chad E. Gibson
403rd Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- As residents of the Texas coastline flee to safe havens, the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters fly right into the center of Mother Nature's fury.

Hurricane Ike is projected to make landfall Sept. 13 along the Texas coast near the city of Galveston as well as provide tropical storm force winds along the Louisiana and Mississippi coastlines.

Keesler's Hurricane Hunters have been flying nonstop for more than three weeks into Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike.

WC-130J aircraft, flown by the Citizen Airmen of the 403rd Wing, pass through the eye of Hurricane Ike every three hours, 24 hours-a-day, collecting life-saving data that is sent directly to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla.

This data increase the accuracy of the National Hurricane Center's forecasts by 30 percent. What does this mean?

Imagine Ike's warning area enlarged by 30 percent. With the warning bubble expanded by nearly a third, hundreds more communities would be forced to evacuate ahead of the storm. At a cost of $1 million per mile of coastline to evacuate, the increased accuracy saves tens of millions of dollars on every flight. In addition, more lives are saved because residents heed the more accurate NHC's warnings.

Hurricane Ike has been slow to change in reaching the coast, leading NHC forecasters to believe the storm will not significantly increase in strength. However, by the time Ike reaches landfall on Sept. 13 it could near Category Three wind speeds. The additional concern is the storm surge created by Ike, already covering some low-lying roadways along the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline with water.

Officials in the 403rd Wing said they will continue to track the hurricane until it makes landfall. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)