{"id":29717,"date":"2023-02-04T03:07:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T08:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=29717"},"modified":"2023-02-04T03:07:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-04T08:07:27","slug":"no-storms-what-do-hurricane-hunters-and-forecasters-do-the-other-6-months-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2023\/02\/04\/no-storms-what-do-hurricane-hunters-and-forecasters-do-the-other-6-months-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"No storms? What do hurricane hunters and forecasters do the other 6 months of the year?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Between the hum of the plane\u2019s engine and the blasting winds outside, Cmdr. Adam Abitbol listens to what he calls his playlist du jour. It\u2019s sometimes made up of hip-hop. Or Indie. Or classical. But never a country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is a routine for Abitbol, who spent about 250 hours in the air last year\u2014 the equivalent of about 10\u00bd days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For six months of the year, Abitbol is a pilot for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Hurricane Hunters, based in Lakeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few hundred miles away, in Miami, forecasters hunch over screens scrutinizing models 24\/7 during hurricane season, which stretches from June 1 to Nov. 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a rinse-and-repeat cycle for the forecasters, scientists, pilots and crew behind the hourly hurricane forecasts \u2014 track, fly, forecast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public is hyperaware of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s work during the hurricane season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Butthe offseason can at times be even busier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offseason at the National Hurricane Center<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December, the National Hurricane Center\u2019s forecasters begin reviewing hurricanes from the past season. The team of about 10 forecasters chronicles the life of a hurricane \u2014 where it tracked, how strong it was, how long it lasted and the destruction it caused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is an authoritative record of that individual storm, said John Cangialosi, acting branch chief of the Hurricane Specialist Unit at the National Hurricane Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the reports allow forecasters to scrutinize themselves. The Hurricane Center wants to know what it got right and wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larger storms like Hurricane Ian have multiple forecasters working on the review at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the reviews finish around February, the forecasters spend the rest of the season in workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hurricane Center trains city managers from across the United States. These are the people who make evacuation calls. Over three weeks, the Hurricane Center teaches them when to make the tough decisions based on its forecasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want them to understand what will be coming their way,\u201d Cangialosi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After those three weeks, the Hurricane Center forecasters teach other international meteorologists. Then they go on tour, visiting other states to teach their emergency officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come June 1, forecasters fixate on the weather. That\u2019s all they do, Cangialosi said. The offseason requires more multitasking, which is why it can feel busier, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flights in the offseason<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The No. 1 question Abitbol getsasked is \u201cwhat\u2019s it like to fly in a hurricane?\u201d A close second is, \u201cwhat do you do the other six months of the year?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration creates a fiscalyear allocation plan for its nine planes. The plane\u2019s tasks could be as simple as maintenance or pilot training. Other planes will be dedicated to research projects, some that could span the entire year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far this year, pilots have been flying missions out of Hawaii to study the atmospheric rivers that have dumped heavy rain in California. On the other side of the country, a Twin Otter, one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s smaller two-engine planes, is recording the dwindling population of North Atlantic right whales. In the Florida Keys, another Twin Otter is mapping the changing coastline.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Outside of a pilot\u2019s time in the air, they all have ground jobs that assist in the day-to-day activities at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s aircraft operations center. Pilots may budget, train other pilots or perform a number of other jobs that keep the building running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the offseason, Abitbol is a test pilot. And for his ground work, he\u2019s taking on the role of chief of operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all spread out,\u201d Abitbol said. \u201cWe all have different roles that augment the flying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hurricane season or the quiet season, which is better?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are pros and cons to each part of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe beauty is, it feels balanced,\u201d Cangialosi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is time to build relationships with people that isn\u2019t possible during the hurricane season. Cangialosi can make fulfilling connections with people through talking and teaching while the Atlantic is quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the hurricane season sizzles with energy. It\u2019s just exciting, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the crews in the air and on the ground at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the hurricane season is exhausting. However, Abitbol said the crew finds solidarity in each other and their passion for the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe folks that get on those airplanes to fly the hurricanes, I think we all love what we do,\u201d Abitbol said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the most dynamic flying for a pilot, he said. Everyone knows their roles and moves in harmony. And by the time the plane lands, their data has already contributed to a new track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s exciting. It\u2019s like this is a direct result of what we\u2019ve done,\u201d Abitbol said. \u201cYou don\u2019t get that very often in work, especially in aviation, so that part is very rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abitbol finds fulfillment in other research outside of the hurricane hunter flights, including flying fast and low above snowy regions and recording snowpack. The pilots on these missions record data that people rely on to save lives and property should an area flood, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two missions are different, but both are rewarding, Abitbol said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you asked me in October after six straight weeks of flying hurricanes how I feel about it, I may feel a little different,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Between the hum of the plane\u2019s engine and the blasting winds outside, Cmdr. Adam Abitbol listens to what he calls his playlist du jour. It\u2019s sometimes made up of hip-hop.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","default_image_id":71799,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[4444],"class_list":["post-29717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-no-storms-what-do-hurricane-hunters-and-forecasters-do-the-other-6-months-of-the-year"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}