Hurricane Sam, at its peak, was the most powerful storm so far this season. It topped out as a high-end Category 4 with maximum wind speeds around 155 mph, spending eight consecutive days as a major hurricane before finally beginning to weaken.
It was the strongest hurricane ever observed so far east so late in the calendar season, according to meteorologist Phil Klotzbach.
And now, scientists know what the storm looked like from the inside out. Last week, NOAA researchers sailed a drone straight into the heart of the hurricane.
It was the first time NOAA had successfully piloted a seagoing drone inside a hurricane. The agency hopes to use scientific data, collected by special sensors on the vehicle, to improve future hurricane models and forecasts.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better storm, a Category 4 hurricane,” said NOAA scientist Greg Foltz, a co-lead on the project, in an interview with E&E News.
The feat was accomplished with a special floating vehicle designed by Saildrone Inc., which specializes in oceangoing, data-collecting drones.
Continue reading: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/noaa-sailed-a-drone-into-the-heart-of-powerful-hurricane-sam/
It was the strongest hurricane ever observed so far east so late in the calendar season, according to meteorologist Phil Klotzbach.
And now, scientists know what the storm looked like from the inside out. Last week, NOAA researchers sailed a drone straight into the heart of the hurricane.
It was the first time NOAA had successfully piloted a seagoing drone inside a hurricane. The agency hopes to use scientific data, collected by special sensors on the vehicle, to improve future hurricane models and forecasts.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better storm, a Category 4 hurricane,” said NOAA scientist Greg Foltz, a co-lead on the project, in an interview with E&E News.
The feat was accomplished with a special floating vehicle designed by Saildrone Inc., which specializes in oceangoing, data-collecting drones.
Continue reading: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/noaa-sailed-a-drone-into-the-heart-of-powerful-hurricane-sam/
