National Hurricane Center East Coast Hurricane Tour 050615 003

            Hurricane Hunters visits Myrtle Beach to raise awareness and preparedness as we move closer to the 2015 Hurricane Season on the east coast. - May 6, 2015 - Myrtle Beach, SC

From HurricaneHunters.com: 

The primary mission of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (53rd WRS) is to conduct tropical storm reconnaissance. The 53rd WRS is aligned under the 403rd Reserve Wing located at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi. Although the airplanes and people are Department of Defense assets the units “primary tasking” command is the Department of Commerce. Although a strange set-up it has worked well. Tropical reconnaissance is governed by the National Hurricane Operations Plan. This plan specifics that the 53rd WRS will support 24 hour a day continuous operations and have the ability to fly up to 3 storms at a time with a response time of 16 hours. I am sure you thinking, 3 storms a day, that would never happen! Well, our AOR is not just the Caribbean and the Atlantic it actually extends from the Mid-Atlantic (55W Longitude) to the International Dateline in the Pacific.

Since the 53rd WRS is tasked to fly three storms, twice a day, there is a necessity for ten full-time aircrews and ten part-time. Many of the part-timers are part of the civilian work force and hold a wide array of jobs including airline pilots, school teachers, realtors, you name it.
They come to the base a couple of times every month to train and will fly recon missions when available. The 53rd WRS flies the WC-130J with a five person crew element to include a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, aerial reconnaissance weather officer (ARWO), and a Weather Loadmaster.

The 53rd WRS uses the WC-130J to penetrate tropical storms. These aircraft are not reinforced in any way in fact the only differences between a WC-130J and a C-130J is the addition of two external fuel tanks (giving them longer range), a radiometer pod on the left wing and the two addition crew pallets in the cargo bay (see below for more information on specific weather instruments). 
 
The C130J is the newest generation of the C-130 Hercules which primarily performs the tactical portion of the airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.
The C-130 operates throughout the U.S. Air Force, serving with Air Mobility Command (stateside based), Air Force Special Operations Command, theater
commands, Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve Command, fulfilling a wide range of operational missions in both peace and war situations. Basic and specialized versions of the aircraft airframe perform a diverse number of roles, including airlift support, Antarctic ice resupply, aeromedical missions, weather reconnaissance, aerial spray missions, fire-fighting duties for the U.S. Forest Service and natural disaster relief missions.

Taken on: May 6, 2015

Sets appears in: • National Hurricane Center East Coast Hurricane Tour - May 6, 2015

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/2.8, 1/4000 sec, 200mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens:	EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	1/4000 sec
Focal Length:	200mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Manual
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4.1 (Macintosh)
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