NOAA Hurricane Hunters

The NOAA Hurricane Hunters work under the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC), located on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, United States. The Aircraft Operations Center is under the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), which is a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce. The AOC has resided at MacDill AFB since January 1993.

NOAA announced that in 2013, Doppler weather radar data will be transmitted in real time from hurricane hunter aircraft. It should help forecasters analyze conditions faster regarding a storm. This could further improve the HWRF model forecasts by 10 to 15 percent.

The NOAA Hurricane Hunters conduct research using special aircraft in order to support NOAA's mission of predicting changes in the Earth's environment and managing coastal and marine resources. AOC crews fly through hurricanes to help forecasters and scientists gather both operational and research data. In addition, the crews do a number of other research projects - including ocean wind studies, winter storm research, thunderstorm research, coastal erosion, and air chemistry flights to name a few.

NOAA uses two Lockheed WP-3D Orions and a Gulfstream IV-SP for most of its weather-related missions; however NOAA also uses light aircraft for some of its research. In conjunction with Jim Henson Productions, NOAA's P-3s are nicknamed Kermit The Frog (N42RF) and Miss Piggy (N43RF). The G-IV (N49RF) is nicknamed Gonzo.

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Wikipedia