| On weaker systems such as Joyce, we fly at low level, just 500 to 1500
feet over the ocean. Intrepid pilot Dan divides his attention between the instruments, and
the changing weather conditions unfolding before us. The entire crew is on guard
against anything that might put a damper on this flight.
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| Dark rainshowers obscur the horizon, as we map out the winds around
Joyce. This veil of rain is thin enough on the right side that we can
see through it. The navigator also assures us this is a weak
rainshower, according to the radar. We'll fly through this weaker area, but watch for spray
blowing up from the water, a sign of a strong downdraft or microburst.
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| Spunky weather officer Jon types out a message to the
National Hurricane Center, describing the conditions we found that
day. We're the eyes on the scene for these Hurricane Specialists, who will
feed our data to their computers; these data make the forecasts about 25% more
accurate than just using satellite data alone.
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| Sometimes our flight pattern takes us near various Caribbean islands,
which are a welcome sight after looking over featureless ocean for
hours at a time. Sometimes we can see large waves pounding the shoreline,
which attests to the power of even the weaker storms.
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Joyce was a Cape Verde hurricane that weakened to a tropical storm as it approached the Leeward
Islands, then was downgraded to a tropical depression after it crossed into
the Caribbean and passed just north of the Venezuela coastline. Our
squadron flew a couple missions on this storm as it threatened the
Lesser Antilles, and monitored it for possible redevelopment after it
entered the Caribbean.