Every 30 seconds when a hurricane threatens, a U. Corey Grant Jersey .S. Air Force Hurricane Hunter sends a burst of data to computers tracking the storm.
An Air Force C-130 was the first to signal that Hurricane Charley had become a category 4 powerhouse on Friday. The planes make multiple passes through the storms eye, dropping probes into the air to measure wind speed, barometric pressure, and the temperature of the air and the water below it.
But despite the technology available today, Charley proved how difficult the art of forecasting can be.
With hurricanes, each one has its own personality, said Lt. Col. Ron Marx, pilot of a hurricane hunter flight out of Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Even if we fly in the same one multiple times, every time we go its different.
Hurricane Charley was a stern reminder of that. As late as Friday morning, some forecasts said there was a good chance the storm would hit Tampa, Fla., directly. But at the last moment, it made a slight turn to the right.
The storms path only shifted about 50 miles, but to people in that path, those 50 miles were crucial.
I never thought it was going to come right straight across and hit us like this, said one storm victim.
‘Well Never Have a Perfect Forecast’
Forecasters themselves know better than to be surprised by the last-minute surprises every storm offers. They issued hurricane warnings for the entire west coast of Florida the day before landfall.
Hurricanes make these kinds of wobbles all the time, said Ed Rappaport, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Its another reason why the warning area is larger than the storm itself.
The hurricane hunters send data from the storms center, while satellites provide views from above. The information is analyzed by more than half a dozen different computer models.
In Charleys case, probes from the C-130s reported that the waters of the Gulf of Mexico were in the high 80s — unusually warm, even for August. That probably boosted the storms strength.
But a hurricane is infinitely complex. If it changes course or intensity, meteorologists with todays technology may never know why.
After 18 years of flying through hurricanes, your respect for these things continues to grow, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Valerie Hendry, a hurricane hunter weather officer.
The National Hurricane Center said its predictions improve by a few percent every year. Still, the best computer models tend to miss by 40 or 50 miles — 40 or 50 crucial miles.
Thats certainly our goal, to have a track forecast without error, said Scott Kiser, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Of course, given the wills and wiles of mother nature, well probably never have a perfect forecast.
-- This embed didnt make it to copy for story id = 297. Eli Ankou Jersey . And though his comeback night didnt quite go to script, Bryant couldnt help reflecting on the work necessary to get back on that court -- and all the months of steady labour ahead to reclaim his game. Bryant had nine points and eight rebounds in his season debut, but Amir Johnson scored a career-high 32 points in the trade-depleted Toronto Raptors 106-94 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday night. Cheap Football Jaguars Jerseys . Linemates Ryan Johansen and Boone Jenner each had a goal and an assist in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves to lead the Blue Jackets past the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Saturday night. http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseyssale.com/?tag=josh-wells-jersey-sale . Price also posted the longest shutout sequence since 1960 at 164:19 minutes. He stopped a combined 55 shots in Canadas final two games and 70 of 71 shots in Canadas three elimination games, allowing only a breakaway goal to Lauris Darzins of Latvia. For his efforts, Price was named best goalkeeper by the tournament directorate. Prices outstanding play is marred only by the extremely strong defensive play of Canadas top six defencemen; Shea Weber, Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester.Dont mistake this as a publicity stunt to get viewers of the film to come dressed in costume, the Brees family are simply big fans of dressing for movie nights.Their previous outfits include;1920s get-ups for the Great Gatsby Had a blast at #GreatGatsby recently. And yes, of course we dressed up! This movie will win some awards I imagine. pic.twitter.com/DYzmpNWxFR — Drew Brees (@drewbrees) May 14, 2013And breaking out their best camo gear for GI Joe. I think we are ready for #GIJOEMOVIE pic.twitter.com/2kANWDPaSb — Drew Brees (@drewbrees) March 22, 2013However, it appears thee two do not fancy themselves to be "Trekkies," this was the best they had for the Star Trek movie. Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Free Shipping. Had a blast at sneak preview of #STARTREK Into Darkness last night. My fingers dont bend quite like The Vulcans! pic.twitter.com/q0uqLyTjPL — Drew Brees (@drewbrees) May 15, 2013And finally, while were on the subject of dressing up, heres the happy Brees family on Halloween. Happy Halloween! Baylen opted out of his costume but did not opt out of getting a boatload of candy! pic.twitter.com/YJwQ1jU8 — Drew Brees (@drewbrees) November 1, 2012 Cheap Adidas Hockey JerseysWholesale College JerseysCheap Nike Basketball JerseysCheap Football Jerseys Free ShippingCheap Baseball JerseysCheap Jerseys Free ShippingCheap Jerseys From ChinaWholesale Nike NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale Nike NBA JerseysCheap NHL Jerseys AuthenticCheap MLB Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Soccer Jerseys ChinaCheap NCAA Jerseys ChinaStitched NFL JerseysCheap Custom Jerseys ChinaCheap Basketball Jerseys AuthenticNFL Jerseys ChinaCheap College JerseysWholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '