Hurricane Hunters begin awareness tour in Canada

Published May 11, 2015
By Master Sgt. Brian Lamar
403rd Wing Public Affairs

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, Canada -- The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters spread severe weather awareness to more than 1,100 Canadians as they completed the first stop of a six-city East Coast centric Hurricane Awareness Tour in Halifax, Nova Scotia May 3.

This year marks the first time the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters have been invited and authorized to conduct the entire U.S.-based outreach mission operated by the National Hurricane Center.

"Having the National Hurricane Center and the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters here is important for us. Some people do not realize that we deal with Hurricanes all the way up here in Nova Scotia," said John Parker, the associate director for the meteorological service Canada.

The Nova Scotia area received heavy damage in 2003 when Hurricane Juan strengthened as it head north off the U.S. eastern seaboard and slammed into Halifax as a Category 2 Hurricane.

"Not only do we occasionally receive hurricanes, but we also have repeated potential for severe weather, heavy winds and rain, when the extra tropical weather coming off of the Canadian and Northern U.S. landmass interact with the subtropical weather moving northward," said Parker.

With the potential for life-threatening weather, the Canadians rely on the combined team of U.S.-based organization's data collected by the Hurricane Hunters and forecasts by the National Hurricane Center.

"We like having a chance to showcase our relationship with our partners at the 53rd. We can use these outreach opportunities to highlight both our operational and research missions and aircraft from both of our organizations," said Dr. Richard Knabb, the Director of the National Hurricane Center.

Throughout the tour, 53rd WRS personnel engaged with elementary through highschool students, aviation clubs, civic and governmental organizations, media and political leadership from the tour locations.

"This awareness tour is a great opportunity to explain to people face-to-face how we get the hurricane hunting mission done," said Lt. Col. Keith Gibson, the director of operations for the squadron and a pilot on the Hurricane Awareness Tour.
Even though Canadians were receiving potentially life-saving information, Parker believes that the planes were the most important aspect to the tour for success.

"These planes bring a crowd. They bring out your inner kid from everyone 8-80 years old," said Parker. " The planes help bolster outreach capability by a visible demonstration of the important partnerships we have with organizations who are doing a lot of work to give us accurate weather forecasts," he said. "You can't demonstrate that importance without the crowd showing up, and that is what these planes ensure us."