Taiwan Recon

[senorpepr]

For sometime, Taiwan has provided synoptic dropsondes ahead of typhoons. Today, I noticed a bulletin from Monday with the header URPA RCTP: It appears to be HDOBs from Taiwan. Could this mean fix missions in the future?!


URPA RCTP 112308
Test HDOB 06 20120611
224830 2113N 11942E //// 43000 //// -573 /// 023 043 044 /// /// //
225030 2124N 11943E //// 43005 //// -571 /// 033 045 047 /// /// //
225200 2131N 11950E //// 43001 //// -570 /// 023 032 033 /// /// //
225400 2143N 11953E //// 43002 //// -571 /// 027 037 037 /// /// //
225530 2152N 11956E //// 42991 //// -568 /// 022 035 036 /// /// //
225730 2205N 11959E //// 43007 //// -566 /// 015 031 032 /// /// //
225930 2215N 11954E //// 42991 //// -566 /// 346 043 044 /// /// //
230130 2211N 11942E //// 43006 //// -572 /// 331 027 028 /// /// //
230300 2203N 11936E //// 42991 //// -576 /// 332 035 036 /// /// //
230400 2159N 11928E //// 43002 //// -577 /// 341 029 029 /// /// //
230530 2156N 11917E //// 43001 //// -577 /// 346 026 026 /// /// //
230730 2152N 11905E //// 42997 //// -579 /// 334 024 024 /// /// //
$$

[dexterlabio]

Wow. Yes please! WPAC season seems to show signs of high activity, not to mention the brewing El Nino which could help pump up and extend the season well into the last quarter of the year. Would be great to have fix missions amid interesting typhoons to come up this year!

[Chacor]

That's interesting on one front: I've only ever seen a RECCO from Taiwan. If they're putting out HDOBs now I'm impressed.

[Infdidoll]

Two thumbs up. That would be great to see!

[brunota2003]

It sure would be nice...seeing how the satellites sometimes don't like to be accurate, and RSMCs like to call hurricanes with eyes tropical storms...

[beoumont]

To try and get an answer on whether there will be recon in the West Pacific this year I sent an e-mail to a friend, the Air Force Reserve aircraft coordinator for the
Atlantic Basin. He responded with: "Taiwan, like
Canada has one reconnaissance aircraft. Previously these countries had used them for research only----nothing came out of the airplanes in real time."

That doesn't fully answer the "question"; but gives a little insight.

[Typhoon Hunter]

That's very interesting. Fixed recon would be a real dream and immense data mine for the study of TCs. We got unbelievably lucky to get recon into Megi in 2010 when she was near peak intensity.

I know Hong Kong now have a plane available like Taiwan's DOTSTAR one, purely for synoptic recon. Fingers crossed Taiwan have bought a P3 / C130 to undertake the real deal!

[euro6208]

That's very interesting. Fixed recon would be a real dream and immense data mine for the study of TCs. We got unbelievably lucky to get recon into Megi in 2010 when she was near peak intensity.

I know Hong Kong now have a plane available like Taiwan's DOTSTAR one, purely for synoptic recon. Fingers crossed Taiwan have bought a P3 / C130 to undertake the real deal!

oh i remember megi...recon found 175 knots sustained winds...which would be a WORLD RECORD for highest sustained wind speed ever observed for any tropical cyclones in the world...we were extremely lucky to have recon that year makes you wonder, what if we had recon every year?