In The Community

NOAA's P-3 Hurricane Hunter Plane at Southeast Texas Regional Airport (5/2/06)

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(1) The NOAA P-3 Orion hurricane hunter plane arrives at Southeast Texas Regional Airport. The P-3 flies long missions into tropical systems in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, taking measurements of different weather-related phenomena.

(2) Members of the local media, as well as our own Senior Forecaster Joe Rua, wait for the P-3's arrival at the hangar.

(3) The P-3 Orion hurricane hunter plane taxiing to a stop for all its guests to see.

(4) Montra Lockwood, NWS Lake Charles' Service Hydrologist, talks to local school students who came to get an up-close look at the P-3.

(5) Roger Erickson, NWS Lake Charles' Warning Coordination Meteorologist, also talked to the students.

(6) Students line up to board the plane.

(7) The crew of the "Kermit" talk to the students and their chaperones about life flying through hurricanes.

(8) Our own Donovan Landreneau, one of our forecasters and local hurricane expert, spent some time hanging out with the flight crew.

(9) Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center, spent much of the day doing interviews with regional media outlets.

(10) Each hurricane logo on the side of the plane represents a storm which the plane flew through. The flags represent nations or their territories over which the plane has flown to investigate a storm.

(11) The "Kermit", as the plane is known, was selected to fly to the area since it was the plane which spent the most time flying through Hurricane Rita last season.

(12) The "Kermit" is one of a pair of P-3 Orions which NOAA uses for hurricane reconnaissance missions. The other's name? Why, the "Miss Piggy", of course!