New C-130J May Join Hurricane Hunters

The view of a hurricane is quite different at 10,000 feet. But even from the vantage point of a WC-130 Hercules aircraft, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron  crew knows the potential death and destruction that could lie within the eye of the storm below them.
The 2005 hurricane season is expected to be a historic one for the Hurricane Hunters as they hope to complete the transition from the WC-130 to the faster, modernized WC-130J model this summer.
"We've done many experimental missions with this aircraft, and there were issues with radar, and with props that were previously reported in the press," said Lt. Col. Doug Lipscombe, 53rd WRS aerial reconnaissance weather officer. "Those issues, we think, have been resolved. We aim to prove that in the coming months, and we hope we will be able of fully implement the aircraft.
"If everything else goes as we hope, we will reach initial operating capability this summer."
The WC-130J's main features include an all-glass cockpit, heads-up display and modernized computer systems. But its best attribute will likely be what it will be able to accomplish in hurricane conditions.
"This aircraft can fly higher, faster, and consequently, farther than the C-130H," Lipscombe said. "The engines are more powerful, but also we're not required to carry that big 10,000 pound gas tank in back of the aircraft like we have in the WC-130H.
The 53rd WRS, based at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., flies into tropical storms and hurricanes to gather information that is invaluable to National Hurricane Center forecasters.
"When a storm is way out in the Atlantic, about all we have aside from aircraft reconnaissance is satellite imagery," said Steve Letro, a meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Satellites tell us something about the storm, but nothing gives us information like the planes going through the hurricane and getting information from inside it. This is how we get an idea of what steering currents there are and whether the environment is favorable for strengthening or weakening."
In September 2004, Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew a combined 59 missions into Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, Lipscombe said. Crew members, as well as the rest of the population in risk areas, learned valuable lessons in the 2004 hurricane season. Even though the squadron is based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, last year's hurricanes also made a personal impact, especially for Lt. James Linder, 53rd WRS commander. Linder, who is also a Delta Airlines pilot, just recently moved back into his house on the east coast of Florida after it sustained heavy damage in Frances and Jeanne.
"The lesson from 2004 was to be prepared," Lipscombe said. "Every year, we see the number of deaths due to hurricanes decreasing, and that's the good part of it. The unfortunate part is we also see the damage. Through no fault of your own, a bullseye was painted on Florida, and you experienced four major hurricanes in one year, which is hard for anyone to bear.
"But when a hurricane is coming ashore, there's nothing anyone can do about that. People in Florida can be assured that we will continue helping the National Hurricane Center fulfill its mission of putting out the best possible forecasts."
With the help of the WC-130's Improved Weather Reconnaissance System, the crew measures outside free air temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and evaluates other meteorological conditions such as turbulence, icing, visibility, cloud types and ocean surface winds.
The crew obtains other vital information by dropping dropsondes - 16-foot cylindrical weather sensor packages that resemble canisters at the bank drive-through window.
These dropsondes gather information as they descend about 2,400 feet per minute beneath a small parachute to the ocean. The canister radios weather data on the temperature, humidity, pressure and winds inside the storm. The crew then processes the data and transmits the information by satellite to the National Hurricane Center ever 30 seconds.
"The National Hurricane Center is getting high-density data via satellite," Lipscombe said.
"They get a complete look at all four quadrants of the storm, so they'll be able to see what the intensity of the storm is and where the exact center is, along with wind speed and pressure. All that information is fed into the National Hurricane Center computer modules."