From Hurricane Hunters to Stormwater

Longfellow Elementary 5th graders took their stormwater knowledge to the Portland International Jetport to meet US Air Force and NOAA Hurricane Hunter pilots and scientists! The students asked tons of questions to learn what kinds of storm data the meteorologists collect (wind speed, pressure, air temperature, water temperature, etc.), how they collect it (radar and biodegradable sondes that get dropped from the planes), where the data goes (continuous transmissions to NOAA National Weather Service Stations to generate forecasts), and how the pilots keep the planes in the air as they fly in and out of hurricanes (specialty pilot training and keeping the planes low and slow perpendicular to the wind).

A huge thank you to the Gray NOAA National Weather Service Office for this amazing learning experience!