Time of "pursuers of storms"

Why are the teams of meteorologists get to the epicenters of the strongest hurricanes on cars and aircraft

The US authorities announced the evacuation of more than 6 million people before the powerful Hurricane of Irma and opened hundreds of shelters. Not everyone used them: in the USA, several teams of meteorologists decided to experience the power of the Irma and get to the very heart of the hurricane. “Storm pursuers”, “Hurricers hunters” and many others: among the teams of meteorologists, there are those who work for the sake of unique filming and the air detachment of the US Department of Defense, which has been studying storms since 1944.

Who are the "pursuers of storms"?

This term is called meteorologists or, less often, just lovers of sharp adventures who strive to be in the epicenter of a strong hurricane. Someone moves in cars, someone flies over the storm on airplanes. Researchers make measurements of wind strength in the epicenter of the storm and fix the situation, and also shoot the video.

The fame of meteorologists was brought by the program on the Discovery channel “Storm pursuers”. Her heroes constructed armored weighted cars that were protected from the elements - and went for hurricanes to the so -called alley of Tornado, the territory between the rocky mountains and mountains of Appalachi in the United States. The program was released from 2007 to 2012, then it was canceled due to low ratings. A similar television program, but with other participants, went out on the American channel The Weather Channel. Left without constant broadcasts, enthusiasts-meteorologists have not stopped working and are engaged in either scientific research or the production of a video about hurricanes for sale, and often both at the same time. The creator of the “pursuers of the storm”, for example, now shoots paintings for National Geographic about the extreme manifestations of the elements that are published in IMAX format.

Another group of “pursuers of storms” is the so -called “hurricanes hunters” who explore weather phenomena on aircraft. The group was created back in the 1940s, it was assigned to the US Department of Defense and, first of all, is engaged in scientific research and the identification of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Meteorologists aircraft are able to fly through a hurricane and take measurements. These aircraft are piloted mainly by army reservists, which have constant civilian work. One of them is the pilot of Delta Airlines.

Why do they go to such a risk? Is it possible to send a drone?

According to experts in the field of hurricanes research, satellite data and monitoring of storms with the help of unmanned vehicles help work, but they cannot completely replace a person. At least now, a person is much more useful - he can quickly make decisions, manage complex meteorological equipment or even repair it right on the go, as is the case during the flights of “hunters for hurricances”.

The drones were already sent to observe hurricanes, but in meteorological services they are considered only a complement, and not a replacement for manned flights. In general, researchers agree that in the future, automatic observation systems for hurricanes will replace people, but this will not happen soon.

What does it look like?

In this video, “Storm pursuer”, Jaston Drake measures the wind speed of the Hurricane “Irma”. The device showed about 190 kilometers per hour, and Drake barely stood on his feet.

This is how the Irma looks from the cabin of the aircraft.

Another video of the flight through the epicenter of the hurricane, this time - from the documentary "StormChaseers".

And this is what a typical episode from the documentary series Discovery “Storm pursuers” looked like. On Yetube you can find all the releases of the series .

Pavel Borisov