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I'm Michael Brennan, senior hurricane specialist at NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Part of the mission of the National Weather Service is to save lives and protect property
by issuing watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of hazardous weather conditions in
the tropics. It's a collaborative effort across several NOAA offices, working together to
make the best possible forecast.
Hurricane hunter aircraft from NOAA and the Air Force fly into the heart of the storm,
gathering detailed information on storm location, motion, strength and size that can't be obtained
any other way. Other NOAA aircraft use special instrument packages called dropwindsondes
to measure the steering currents surrounding the storm.
Observations also come from polar and geostationary satellites, ocean buoys and Doppler radar.
All of these data are checked for quality and then put into a suite of computer models
that generate predictions of the hurricane's behavior, and the general conditions of the
atmosphere in which the hurricane is embedded.
The observations are also sent directly to NHC. They're analyzed by the hurricane specialists,
who combine the data with his experience to formulate his forecast and decide when and
where to issue warnings. Other parts of NOAA contribute their expertise by making forecasts
of storm surge, rainfall, and tornadoes.
But even accurate forecasts and warnings aren't enough if you're not ready to take action
when a storm is headed your way. Be prepared this hurricane season.
For more information, visit our website at hurricanes.gov