Del Rio Meteorologists Aid Hurricane Forecast Effort As Irma Nears South Florida

Major Hurricane Irma as of 7PM on Saturday, September 9th, 2017

8PM Saturday, September 9th, 2017 National Hurricane Center Forecast for Major Hurricane Irma

As Irma's first bands of damaging winds batter Key West, Florida, long-time Del Rio native & National Weather Service contractor - Dale Reed - readies the evening's weather balloon at Del Rio International Airport.  This specific balloon flew as high as 111,460 feet above sea level before bursting roughly 100 minutes later.

Generally, weather balloons are launched twice daily in Del Rio - rain or shine - once in the morning, and once in the evening.  

When inclement weather is expected, weather balloons are also launched mid-day and mid-night.  This was the case for Hurricane Harvey, and now for Hurricane Irma.  Since Del Rio's upper-atmospheric winds blow in a west-to-east direction, the data measured in the atmosphere by these balloons over Del Rio can be extrapolated by computers at the National Weather Service to help predict the future of the weather downwind - in this case, in Florida.

​Equipped with only a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a pressure sensor, and a GPS, these weather balloons provide arguably the most valuable weather data about the current dynamics of atmosphere to meteorologists around the globe.

When plotted together (as seen below), they paint a detailed picture of the flow of winds - especially the winds that steer storms, like Hurricane Irma - which are digested into computer forecast models. 

Although Major Hurricane Irma is nearly 1,300 miles away from Del Rio, Texas, local meteorologists and weather technicians are playing a vital role in predicting her projected path and intensity as she bee-lines for the Florida Keys. 

While Del Rio weather experts aren't creating any forecasts for Irma or predicting any adverse weather to the local region - they are making around-the-clock, highly valuable weather observations - both at ground level and aloft - which are then fed directly into the supercomputers in which the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center use to predict Irma's projected track and strength and warn the millions of residents in it's path just in time to evacuate.

Dale ties a parachute together for use once the weather balloon pops at over 100,000 feet in the sky.

September 9th, 2017's Del Rio's evening weather balloon is launched from Del Rio International Airport

These balloons are also extremely valuable for predicting severe weather outbreaks such as tornadoes, hail, heavy rains, flooding, and damaging thunderstorm winds. They even aid firefighters with information to assist with wildfire and smoke control.

Texas has 7 weather balloon launch facilities - one of those being Del Rio. 

Weather balloon data from around the Southeast on the evening of Saturday, September 9th, 2017

Computer model data for the southeast which is created in-part by weather balloon data. Hurricane Irma sits just south of Florida.

Meanwhile, at Laughlin Air Force Base, weather technicians observe the weather from the ground - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  These observations are taken hourly - occasionally more often in the case of nearby inclement weather - and much like weather balloon data are transmitted for use into weather forecast models.  Since weather only exists because of how the sun heats the surface of the earth unevenly across distance - surface weather observations (which contain a significant amount of weather data, as seen below) are essential to weather forecasting.  

Surface weather observation text from the afternoon of September 9th, 2017 at Laughlin AFB.

Most surface weather observations across the United States are automatic - but these automatic stations don't always provide accurate weather data (such as clouds, visibility, thunderstorms, etc).  Because of this, most weather offices and commercial airports visually report the present and approaching weather and clouds while using the weather sensor to calculate pressures, temperatures, and winds.  

Due to Del Rio's somewhat remote location, accurate weather observations from Laughlin AFB around-the-clock play an integral piece in monitoring and forecasting weather across a wide region of west, central, and south Texas - and each weather observation is then ingested into global forecasting models which provide pin-point readings of weather data - such as atmospheric pressure and wind speed and direction - which is key to hurricane forecasting - even if it's over a thousand miles away. 

Surface weather observations overlaid on a weather map on the evening of September 9th, 2017 as Hurricane Irma nears the Florida Keys.

Together, whether contracted with the National Weather Service or employed at Laughlin AFB, local weather experts are playing a much larger part in Hurricane Irma support than most Del Rioans could ever imagine.  

We never know when the next hurricane may take a path up the Rio Grande and we'll be hoping that other areas of the country are looking out for us - and they will be.  In the meteorology world - like many other public service careers - meteorologists are always standing-by, day or night, to observe, forecast, watch, and warn of hazardous weather - and in Del Rio Texas, you've got a great team.