Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States, behind the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille originated as a tropical depression on August 14, south of Cuba, from a long-tracked tropical wave. Located in a favorable environment for strengthening, the storm quickly intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before striking the western part of Cuba on August 15. Emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, Camille underwent another period of rapid intensification and became a Category 5 hurricane the next day as it moved northward towards the Louisiana–Mississippi region. Despite weakening slightly on August 17, the hurricane quickly re-intensified back into a Category 5 hurricane before it made landfall a half-hour before midnight in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. At peak intensity, the hurricane had peak 1-minute sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 900 mbar (26.58 inHg). This was the second-lowest pressure recorded for a U.S. landfall, and is one of just four hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S at Category 5 status. Only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane had a lower pressure at landfall. As Camille pushed inland, it quickly weakened and was a tropical depression by the time it was over the Ohio Valley. Once it emerged offshore, Camille was able to restrengthen to a strong tropical storm, before it became extratropical on August 22. Camille was absorbed by a frontal storm over the North Atlantic later that day.
Project Stormfury was an attempt to weaken tropical cyclones by flying aircraft into them and seeding with silver iodide. The project was run by the United States Government from 1962 to 1983. The hypothesis was that the silver iodide would cause supercooled water in the storm to freeze, disrupting the inner structure of the hurricane, and this led to seeding several Atlantic hurricanes. However, it was later shown that this hypothesis was incorrect. It was determined that most hurricanes do not contain enough supercooled water for cloud seeding to be effective. Additionally, researchers found that unseeded hurricanes often undergo the same structural changes that were expected from seeded hurricanes. This finding called Stormfury's successes into question, as the changes reported now had a natural explanation.
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane. After causing 95 fatalities in the US, Hazel struck Canada as an extratropical storm, raising the death toll by 81 people, mostly in Toronto. As a result of the high death toll and the damage caused by Hazel, its name was retired from use for North Atlantic hurricanes.
The Lockheed WC-130 is a high-wing, medium-range aircraft used for weather reconnaissance missions by the United States Air Force. The aircraft is a modified version of the C-130 Hercules transport configured with specialized weather instrumentation including a dropsonde deployment/receiver system and crewed by a meteorologist for penetration of tropical cyclones and winter storms to obtain data on movement, size and intensity.
Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into tropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are the United States Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Hunters. Such missions have also been flown by Navy units and other Air Force and NOAA units. Other organizations also fly these missions, such as Government Flying Service Hong Kong.
The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, also known by its nickname, Hurricane Hunters, is a flying unit of the United States Air Force, and "the only Department of Defense organization still flying into tropical storms and hurricanes." Aligned under the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and based at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, with ten aircraft, it flies into tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Central Pacific Ocean for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms. The 53rd WRS currently operates the Lockheed WC-130J aircraft as its weather data collection platform.
The 1984 Atlantic hurricane season was the most active since 1971, though the season was below average in hurricanes and major hurricanes. It officially began on June 1, 1984, and lasted until November 30, 1984. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic basin. The 1984 season was an active one in terms of named storms, but most of them were weak and stayed at sea. Most of the cyclones tracked through the northwest subtropical Atlantic west of the 50th meridian to near the Eastern coast of the United States between mid-August and early October. The most damaging storm was Hurricane Klaus, which caused $152 million (1984 dollars) in damage in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Diana was the first hurricane to strike a nuclear power plant without incident; it was also the first major hurricane to strike the U.S. East Coast in nearly 20 years. Also of note was Hurricane Lili, which lasted well after the official end of the season. It was downgraded from a named storm on December 24. Damage overall from the tropical cyclones in 1984 totaled $228.7 million. Unusually, no hurricanes developed from tropical waves in 1984, which usually are the source of the strongest storms in an Atlantic hurricane season.
Hurricane Cleo was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 1964 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the third named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season. Cleo was one of the longest-lived storms of the season. This compact yet powerful hurricane travelled through the Caribbean Sea and later hit Florida before moving offshore Georgia into the Carolinas, killing 156 people and causing roughly $187 million in damage. Major damage was seen as far north as east-central Florida, with the heaviest rains falling along the immediate coast of the Southeast United States into southeast Virginia.
Hurricane Bonnie was a major hurricane that made landfall in North Carolina, United States, inflicting severe crop damage. The second named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, Bonnie developed from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on August 14. The wave gradually developed, and the system was designated a tropical depression on August 19. The depression began tracking towards the west-northwest, and became a tropical storm the next day. On August 22, Bonnie was upgraded to a hurricane, with a well-defined eye. The storm peaked as a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, and around the same time, the storm slowed and turned more towards the north-northwest. A large and powerful cyclone, Bonnie moved ashore in North Carolina early on August 27, slowing as it turned northeast. After briefly losing hurricane status, the storm moved offshore and regained Category 1-force winds, although it weakened again on entering cooler waters.
James Louis Franklin is a former weather forecaster encompassing a 35-year career with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He served as the first branch chief of the newly formed Hurricane Specialist Unit (HSU) before his retirement in 2017.
Tropical Storm Josephine was an unusual Atlantic tropical storm that moved from west to east across the Gulf of Mexico in October 1996. It formed on October 4 as a tropical depression from the remnants of a cold front. Early in its duration, the system interacted with a ridge over the central United States, which produced strong winds and high tides along the Texas coast. The outer rainbands caused flooding rainfall in southern Texas, and in Louisiana, high tides flooded roads and stranded residents on Grand Isle. Moving generally to the east due to a trough, the depression intensified into a tropical storm on October 6, and the next day reached peak winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) while approaching the west coast of Florida. Josephine made landfall in Taylor County near peak intensity early on October 8, and soon after became extratropical. While moving ashore, the storm produced a high storm surge reaching 9.3 ft (2.8 m) in Suwannee. High tides flooded about 3,600 houses along the west coast. Josephine also produced heavy rainfall, which flooded hundreds of homes, and high winds, which left 400,000 people without power. The storm also spawned at least 16 tornadoes, one of which damaged 130 homes.
Tropical cyclone track forecasting involves predicting where a tropical cyclone is going to track over the next five days, every 6 to 12 hours. The history of tropical cyclone track forecasting has evolved from a single-station approach to a comprehensive approach which uses a variety of meteorological tools and methods to make predictions. The weather of a particular location can show signs of the approaching tropical cyclone, such as increasing swell, increasing cloudiness, falling barometric pressure, increasing tides, squalls and heavy rainfall.
Hurricane Felix was the southernmost landfalling Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassing Hurricane Edith of 1971. It was the sixth named storm, second hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. Felix formed from a tropical wave on August 31, passing through the southern Windward Islands on September 1 before strengthening to attain hurricane status. On the next day, Felix rapidly strengthened into a major hurricane, and early on September 3 it was upgraded to Category 5 status; at 2100 UTC on the same day, the hurricane was downgraded to Category 4 status, but strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane for the second and final time by the morning of September 4.
The NOAA Hurricane Hunters are a group of aircraft used for hurricane reconnaissance by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They fly through hurricanes to help forecasters and scientists gather operational and research data. The crews also conduct other research projects including ocean wind studies, winter storm research, thunderstorm research, coastal erosion, and air chemistry flights.
Hurricane Josephine was a long-lived Atlantic hurricane that threatened the East Coast of the United States for several days in October 1984. The sixteenth tropical cyclone, tenth named storm, and third hurricane of the season, Josephine developed from an area of disturbed weather near the Bahamas on October 7, forming with subtropical characteristics. It quickly organized, and gained tropical characteristics as it strengthened into a tropical storm on October 8. Gradual intensification occurred thereafter, reaching hurricane status on October 10. The storm headed northward, remaining well offshore of the eastern United States. Josephine strengthened further and peaked as a moderately strong Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale on October 12. On the following day, Josephine weakened back to a Category 1 hurricane before becoming nearly stationary. It later headed northeastward and paralleled the coast well offshore of Nova Scotia. By October 17, Josephine weakened back to a tropical storm, shortly before beginning to execute a cyclonic loop to the south of Newfoundland. While executing the cyclonic loop, Josephine became extratropical on October 18.
Weather reconnaissance is the acquisition of weather data used for research and planning. Typically the term reconnaissance refers to observing weather from the air, as opposed to the ground.
The history of Atlantic tropical cyclone warnings details the progress of tropical cyclone warnings in the North Atlantic Ocean. The first service was set up in the 1870s from Cuba with the work of Father Benito Viñes. After his death, hurricane warning services were assumed by the US Army Signal Corps and United States Weather Bureau over the next few decades, first based in Jamaica and Cuba before shifting to Washington, D.C. The central office in Washington, which would evolve into the National Meteorological Center and the Weather Prediction Center, assumed the responsibilities by the early 20th century. This responsibility passed to regional hurricane offices in 1935, and the concept of the Atlantic hurricane season was established to keep a vigilant lookout for tropical cyclones during certain times of the year. Hurricane advisories issued every 12 hours by the regional hurricane offices began at this time.
Tropical Storm Beryl was the strongest off-season Atlantic tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in the United States. The second tropical cyclone of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Beryl developed on May 26 from a low-pressure system offshore North Carolina. Initially subtropical, the storm slowly acquired tropical characteristics as it tracked across warmer sea surface temperatures and within an environment of decreasing vertical wind shear. Late on May 27, Beryl transitioned into a tropical cyclone less than 120 miles (190 km) from North Florida. Early the following day, the storm moved ashore near Jacksonville Beach, Florida, with peak winds of 65 mph (100 km/h). It quickly weakened to a tropical depression, dropping heavy rainfall while moving slowly across the southeastern United States. A cold front turned Beryl to the northeast, and the storm became extratropical on May 30.
Flight Nurse is a 1953 American drama war film directed by Allan Dwan and stars Joan Leslie and Forrest Tucker. The film is largely based on the life of Lillian Kinkella Keil, one of the most decorated women in American military history. Flight Nurse begins with the dedication: "This picture is respectfully dedicated to that brave legion of military nurses who are serving with the armed forces of free nations all over the world. These angels of mercy – shoulder to shoulder, share the danger and hardships of free fighting men everywhere, with devotion above and beyond the call of duty."
SS El Faro was a United States-flagged, combination roll-on/roll-off and lift-on/lift-off cargo ship crewed by U.S. merchant mariners. Built in 1975 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. as Puerto Rico, the vessel was renamed Northern Lights in 1991 and, finally, El Faro in 2006. She was lost at sea with her entire crew of 33 on October 1, 2015, after steaming into the eyewall of Hurricane Joaquin.
