UAH students collect crucial data in Hurricane Ida

UAH AES students tie off a weather balloon in preparation to launch ahead of Hurricane Ida's outer spiral rain bands.

UAH Atmospheric & Earth Science Department

A group of students with the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Atmospheric & Earth Science Department deployed on Saturday to collect data in Louisiana as Hurricane Ida came ashore. The team is working closely with colleagues from The University of Oklahoma, as well as scientists from NOAA National Severe Storms Lab.

Members of UAH's team include both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as two staff members.

The Rapidly Deployable Atmospheric Profiling System (RaDAPS) contains a 915 MHz wind profiler, a Microwave Profile Radiometer, a ceilometer, Micro Rain Radar, and a mounted surface station.

UAH Atmospheric & Earth Science Department

Hurricane Ida made landfall as a category 4 hurricane in Port Fourchon, LA early Sunday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 150mph.

UAH's crew collected crucial data before and during the hurricane's journey via its five vehicles equipped with the some of the best mobile technology, such as radar, weather stations, and weather balloons.

The day begin around sunrise when the deployment crew set out for Donaldsonville, LA, which is about 100 miles north of Port Fourchon. Immediately upon arrival and instrument set up, they began collecting data, including launching weather balloons and running radar scans. Vivian Brasfield, a Master's student at UAH, is specifically researching squall lines (lines of severe storms) that form out ahead of a tropical system.

The crew continued taking samplings of the atmosphere, both vertically and horizontally, as the first outer spiral rain band of Ida reached their location and through the hurricane's eye passing overhead.

This research being done by UAH and colleagues could ultimately lead to better forecasting hurricane threats and timing.

Follow the College of Science on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter to get a glimpse into our crew's real-time research of Hurricane Ida.