NOAA G-IV down for maintenance, NOAA P-3 trying to fill the gap; Other recon news
Posted by Chris in Tampa on 10/6/2016, 6:08 am
But the P-3 can't fly as high as the G-IV, so it is a real loss.

The P-3 is currently up around 22,000 feet, the G-IV is usually up about 45,00 feet. To get data for the models, you want good data to determine steering. Those sondes are really important for helping to determine where the storm will go.

The G-IV turned around during its mission at 3:30pm EDT yesterday, but then I forgot about it. So we have already had a gap.

A Global Hawk mission departs at 10pm EDT tonight to drop sondes. But that will not start dropping sondes until Friday. It might be Friday afternoon before the first data starts getting into the models. It might help to determine what the storm does after passing near/along Florida's east coast.

Also, the NOAA radar feature at Hurricane City is only available for the P-3, so the radar data will not be inside the storm, but around it. (occasionally it might get close enough to see the eye)

Starting with the current mission in progress, Air Force recon will be flying into the center of the storm every 3 hours. Previously they were doing 6 hour fixes, where we went up to about that long before getting data from the center again at times.

Recon:
http://hurricanecity.com/recon/

NOAA HRD Blog:
https://noaahrd.wordpress.com/

NHC Recon Plan of the Day:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/recon.php


Lots of recon, but again the P-3 (NOAA3) will be filling in for G-IV (NOAA9) as long as it is down for maintenance.


"WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS
CARCAH, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER, MIAMI, FL.
1000 AM EDT WED 05 OCTOBER 2016
SUBJECT: TROPICAL CYCLONE PLAN OF THE DAY (TCPOD)
        VALID 06/1100Z TO 07/1100Z OCTOBER 2016
        TCPOD NUMBER.....16-132

I.  ATLANTIC REQUIREMENTS
   1. HURRICANE MATTHEW
      FLIGHT 0NE - TEAL 76         FLIGHT TWO - NOAA 49
      A. 06/1730Z,2030Z,2330Z      A. 07/0000Z
      B. AFXXX 2814A MATTHEW       B. NOAA9 2914A MATTHEW
      C. 06/1500Z                  C. 06/1730Z
      D. 25.7N 78.2W               D. NA
      E. 06/0700Z TO 06/2330Z      E. NA
      F. SFC TO 15,000 FT          F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT

      FLIGHT THREE- NOAA 43        FLIGHT FOUR - TEAL 74
      A. 06/2000Z                  A. 07/O230Z,0530Z,0830Z
      B. NOAA3 3014A MATTHEW       B. AFXXX 3114A MATTHEW
      C. 06/1800Z                  C. 07/0015Z
      D. 26.0N 78.5W               D. 27.0N 79.2W
      E. 06/2000Z TO 07/0000Z      E. 06/0800Z TO 06/1430Z
      F. SFC TO 15,000    FT       F. SFC TO 15,000 FT

      FLIGHT FIVE - NOAA 49        FLIGHT SIX - NOAA 43
      A. 07/1200Z                  A. 07/0800Z
      B. NOAA9 3214A MATTHEW       B. NOAA3 3314A MATTHEW
      C. 07/0530Z                  C. 07/0600Z
      D. NA                        D. 27.8N 79.5W
      E. NA                        E. 07/0800Z TO 07/1200Z
      F. 41,000 TO 45,000 FT       F. SFC TO 15,000 FT

      FLIGHT SEVEN - TEAL 75
      A. 07/1130Z,1430Z,1730Z      D. 28.2N 80.1W
      B. AFXXX 3414A MATTHEW       E. 07/1100Z TO 07/1730Z
      C. 07/0930Z                  F. SFC TO 15,000 FT

   2. OUTLOOK FOR SUCCEEDING DAY: CONTINUE 3-HRLY FIXES AND
      A P-3 MISSION EVERY 12 HOURS.

II. PACIFIC REQUIREMENTS
   1. NEGATIVE RECONNAISSANCE REQUIREMENTS.
   2. SUCCEEDING DAY OUTLOOK.....NEGATIVE."




The below is from the NOAA HRD Blog. I don't know how the P-3/G-IV missions will be done today.

"Thursday, 6 Oct. 2016

G-IV:  Is scheduled to fly a synoptic surveillance mission around Matthew. Take off is scheduled for 0530 UTC (1:30AM Eastern) to and from MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL. No HRD scientists will be on this flight.

NOAA43: Is scheduled fly a Tail Doppler Radar mission into Matthew. Take off is scheduled for 2:00AM (0600 UTC) to and from MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL. Three HRD scientists will be on this flight.

G-IV:  Is scheduled to fly a synoptic surveillance mission around Matthew. Take off is scheduled for 1730 UTC (1:30PM Eastern) to and from MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL. No HRD scientists will be on this flight.

NOAA43: Is scheduled fly a Tail Doppler Radar mission into Matthew. Take off is scheduled for 2:00PM (1800 UTC) to and from MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL. Three HRD scientists will be on this flight.

Global Hawk: Is scheduled to fly a mission over Matthew. Take off is scheduled for 0200 UTC (10:00PM Eastern) from NASA's Armstrong Research Flight Facility, Edwards, CA."



The scheduled track for what will now be done by the P-3:



"The P3 will fly a synoptic surveillance mission around Matthew. These types of flights are usually performed by the G-IV. The jet is down for maintenance therefore the P3 will fly around Matthew. It will sample the atmospheric environment ahead of Matthew. NOAA43 will take off around 1:30 AM  (0530 UTC) from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL. Below is the proposed flight track. The dots indicate where the P3 will launch dropwindsondes."
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5am EDT Thurs: 125mph; 944mb; NW at 12 mph; Hurricane warning & watch extended N in U.S. - Chris in Tampa, 10/6/2016, 5:35 am
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