NHC needs help!!

[dixiebreeze]

Paper: Hurricane Center Equipment Broken
Oct 09 8:46 PM US/Eastern

MIAMI: Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center have struggled for more than a decade to issue accurate storm reports using broken equipment, an overbooked airplane fleet and tight budgets, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Key forecasting equipment used by the center has broken down or been unavailable for nearly half of the 45 hurricanes that have struck land since 1992, The Miami Herald found after an eight-month investigation.

"It's almost like we're forecasting blind," said Pablo Santos, a science officer at the National Weather Service's Miami office, which assists the hurricane center during storms. "We've never really had the equipment to do it."

Hurricane Center Director Max Mayfield and four former directors acknowledged that equipment gaps have compromised forecasts, including those for Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Erin in 1995 and Mitch in 1998.

The equipment problems include broken devices such as data- transmitting buoys, weather balloons, radar installations and ground sensors, as well as hurricane hunting airplanes that are overbooked and unavailable to fly weather-observation missions.

"We need help," Mayfield said. "We need more observation (equipment). There's no question."

National Weather Service officials cited the expense of the equipment and its maintenance. They also said there's an overlap, so if a radar installation or buoy fails, another one a few hundred miles away can help.

"Could the Hurricane Center do a better job? Yes. ... But we're working within a resources-available environment," Weather Service Chief D.L. Johnson said.

After the 2004 hurricanes, Congress approved $8.8 million to fix damaged equipment, add more buoys, upgrade hurricane hunter planes and bolster research.

The Herald reviewed audits, e-mails, government databases, maintenance records, accounting reports and congressional testimony, as well as flight logs and interviews. It found:

_Data buoys have been broken for months, and weather balloons are inoperable or missing in some areas, especially in the Caribbean.

_Despite nearly $2 billion spent in the 1990s for Doppler radar installations and electronic weather sensors, they often fail during lightning and power outages in severe weather. The weather sensors shut down more than 60 times during the four hurricanes that struck Florida last year.

_The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two hurricane- hunting turboprop planes are sometimes sent on missions during hurricane season that have little to do with tropical storms. And the budget for the agency's Gulfstream jet isn't enough to fly continuous missions during storms.

[Swimdude]

Yikes... That doesn't sound like good news at all.

[Rainband]

GIVE THEM THE MONEY THEY NEED!! Sorry but it's time to start putting money where we need it. I watched a program on the History channel and they asked for money to improve the Levey system in LA and they were denied. The Army core of engineers had a plan. The Government said it was too expensive. 14 Billion. Look at what we have now. Hurricanes are going to continue to become more powerful and destructive. The experts say we are in a cycle that will continue to produce dangerous storms. While we cannot prevent them. We can make sure this country has the tools it needs to better protect and inform..IT's people. No matter what the cost.

[Aslkahuna]

The money needs to be appropriated by the idiots on Capitol Hill. Democrats and Republicans alike, those on Capitol Hill do NOT care about the American people but only in how they can lie, cheat, and steal all that they can.

Steve

[terstorm1012]

write your congressmen! And then Write Letters to the Editor!

I might have good luck with my congressman, but probably none with my senators, one of whom would like to see the NWS privitized and the other who is dying of cancer and not much use now.


Monday I'm sending out letters! they NEED THIS HELP!

[MWatkins]

This should come as no shock to anyone who reads this board often. Key failures of computer equipment occured on recon flights scheduled into Rita and I think Katrina (maybe Katrina and ophelia...can't remember for sure without looking it up)...and we all know what happened to the doppler in Lake Charles before Rita's landfall.

8.8 million is nothing...a mere drop in the bucket...compared to the overall federal budget..especially for science related purposes.

Heck...if you shut down the antiquated space shuttle and the space station funding...the NHC would have more than enough $ to do what they have to do.

MW

[Brent]

write your congressmen! And then Write Letters to the Editor!

I might have good luck with my congressman, but probably none with my senators, one of whom would like to see the NWS privitized and the other who is dying of cancer and not much use now.

Arlen Specter???

[StrongWind]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two hurricane- hunting turboprop planes are sometimes sent on missions during hurricane season that have little to do with tropical storms. And the budget for the agency's Gulfstream jet isn't enough to fly continuous missions during storms.

And, just what other kinds of 'missions' are hurricane-hunters sent on during hurricanes? Airshows?

[drycreekwater]

<i>I watched a program on the History channel and they asked for money to improve the Levey system in LA and they were denied.</i>

A lot of money was pilfered by corrupt Louisiana gov't.

[apocalypt-flyer]

Well, some people seem to prefer to cut catastrophy funds in order to finance a war ...

Ok, I am going OT now ..

[senorpepr]

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's two hurricane- hunting turboprop planes are sometimes sent on missions during hurricane season that have little to do with tropical storms. And the budget for the agency's Gulfstream jet isn't enough to fly continuous missions during storms.

And, just what other kinds of 'missions' are hurricane-hunters sent on during hurricanes? Airshows?

The NOAA planes have been sent to places like Mexico City during a hurricane to do atmospheric work on polution. These 'missions' were all atmospheric-related. However, they only did these missions because they had AF planes going up.

However, I do agree more recon is better. I've been strongly in-favor of aircraft recon for many years. We've seen how they play a large role in improving models. After the first few synoptic recon missions deployed during Katrina, the next model run snapped toward SW Louisiana.

[EDR1222]

I agree that the NHC needs more equipment and more funding to be able to provide better forecasts, but I have to say that they have still done an outstanding job.

I don't agree with some of things that article talked about. First of all, the GFDL consistently forecasted the SW movement of Katrina over southern Florida and the NHC mentioned that there was a likelihood that it could occur and it was also forecasted to reach hurricane strength prior to reaching the coast of Florida. The watches and warnings were posted for the areas affected.

Also the forecasts for Charley were not horrendous as the article stated, they were actually very good forecasts and although the landfall point was not on the skinny black line, it was well within the cone of where it was expected to make landfall.

We all know the challenges they have with forecasting intensity, and they definately deserve to have more resources available to them, but that aside, they still do one heck of a good job IMO.

[GalvestonDuck]

Well, some people seem to prefer to cut catastrophy funds in order to finance a war ...

Ok, I am going OT now ..

Louisiana went to war?

[tndefender]

Amazing isn't it? For the last 5 years Congress with the complicity of the President has been engaged in the biggest porkfest in U.S. history, and a relatively minor appropriation can't be authorized for essential weather forecasting equipment. Too bad we have to sacrifice hurricane preparedness for things like a $941 million dollar bridge in Alaska connecting an island with a population of 50 to the mainland.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/ ... ex_np.html

[LSU2001]

Amazing isn't it? For the last 5 years Congress with the complicity of the President has been engaged in the biggest porkfest in U.S. history, and a relatively minor appropriation can't be authorized for essential weather forecasting equipment. Too bad we have to sacrifice hurricane preparedness for things like a $941 million dollar bridge in Alaska connecting an island with a population of 50 to the mainland.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/ ... ex_np.html

Yep Pork at it's finest but you have to remember the tremendous amounts of oil that flow from alaska. The revenue on that oil has to be huge. If the state gets a little pork in return good for them. However La. wanted to use some of the oil revenue from offshore oil and gas to help projects that hope to rebuild our wetlands and barrier islands and we were turned down by the feds. They say they control the leases and La. should not get revenue from the off shore oil and gas deposits. some studies are showing that the extraction of oil and gas are actually making La. sink faster. The only way to fight pork and priortize govt spending is to elect representatives that will not try and bring jobs and federal money back to their home state. If they don't do that then they will not have a job very long. The system needs to be changed and quick
Sorry for rambling,
TIm

[terstorm1012]

Alaska gets a disproportionate amount of "pork" in Transportation bills, they get 5 bucks back for every dollar they pay in gas taxes, if i understand the rate of return correctly.

Remember tho, they are a new state and they do need to upgrade their infrastructure, so I can see it both ways.


but i think that money could be better spent elsewhere instead of a bridge to nowhere.

[LSU2001]

Alaska gets a disproportionate amount of "pork" in Transportation bills, they get 5 bucks back for every dollar they pay in gas taxes, if i understand the rate of return correctly.

Remember tho, they are a new state and they do need to upgrade their infrastructure, so I can see it both ways.


but i think that money could be better spent elsewhere instead of a bridge to nowhere.

I agree that the money could be much better spent I was simply pointing out that the feds get a huge amount of money out of the oil and gas from alaska much like La. I think that states should get much more money out of their resources than the feds are willing to pay.
TIm

[jasons2k]

Words cannot describe how classic that is!! Bravo!

[markymark8]

I have said this many times. The NHC needs for funding. They can only do so much with the resources they have. For all you NHC bashers over the years I hope you take a good look at the post Dixiebreeze has put up here. The NHC in the last 10 years have nailed alot of tracks and intensity on Hurricanes with what they have. Imagine what they could do with the right amount of funding. There is alot of great minds and talent that work in the research and laboratory. With the right funding they can have this cone of error probably cut in half or more and the intensity forecast more reliable as well. This would be better for evacuations, FEMA, and the Red Cross. The NHC needs this now. We could be in this active period of stronger Hurricanes like Katrina and Rita for another 40 years NOAA says. Let's forget about going back to the moon and spending billions of dollars on that mission. That's not going to help us with natural disasters from monster Hurricanes like Katrina up in space landing on the moon again. Please!!!