NOAA WP-3D Aircraft Meteorological Flight Data for Hurricane Research

Meteorological data gathered by Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft operated by the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, including hurricane research and winter storm missions. The record consists of 5 documented projects from 2003 and 2004, with measurements acquired at one-second intervals. Data is provided by the NOAA AOC Science and Engineering Division and archived at the National Climatic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyze hurricane structure and intensity using GPS position, radar altimeter, and pressure measurements from flights through tropical cyclones.
• Study atmospheric thermodynamics by correlating total temperature and dewpoint temperature readings across different flight missions.
• Validate and calibrate remote sensing instruments, like the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR), using in-situ liquid water and pressure data.
• Reconstruct detailed flight paths and environmental conditions for specific projects using time, inertial data, and GPS position records.

Strengths

• Measurements are recorded at a high temporal resolution of one-second intervals.
• Data includes scanned images of flight manifests, navigation logs, and mission observation logs for context.
• Covers multiple specific research projects, including the 2003 and 2004 hurricane seasons.

Limitations

• The known temporal coverage is limited to projects from 2003 and 2004, indicating staleness for contemporary analysis.
• The specific parameters measured vary by project, potentially creating inconsistencies across flights.
• The total volume of data, including row count and file size, is unspecified.

Provenance

Source

NOAA Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) Science and Engineering Division, archived at the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).

Collection Method

Data gathered by sensors on Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, initially written to digital tape and later converted to files.

Time Range

Projects documented from 2003 and 2004.

Geography

Flight operations based from MacDill AFB, Florida, covering areas of hurricane, thunderstorm, and winter weather missions.