Global Hawk to Collect Data on Hurricane Matthew
Today, NASA’s Global Hawk, in combination with manned aircraft, will collect data on Hurricane Matthew for the National Hurricane Center to use.
This will be the seventh flight this year for the Global Hawk, as a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s UAS program, and their subdivision SHOUT Hurricane Rapid Response initiative.
The National Hurricane Center released this statement in regards to Hurricane Matthew and its potential impact:
“When a hurricane is forecast to take a track roughly parallel to a coastline, as Matthew is forecast to do from Florida through South Carolina, it becomes very difficult to estimate impacts this far in advance.”
The statement continued, “For example, only a small deviation of the track to the left of the NHC forecast could bring the core of a major hurricane onshore, while a small deviation to the right could keep all of the hurricane-force winds offshore. It will likely take another day or so for the potential impacts of Matthew in the United States to clarify.”
Hurricane Matthew is expected to hit the southern part of the United States by tomorrow.
