NOAA AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS CENTER CATEGORY 4 // 135 KT

HURRICANE LOWELL RECONNAISSANCE // WP-3D "MISS PIGGY"

Mission AF308-0412A-LOWELL • Central Pacific Hawaii Approach • Flight Level: 10,000 FT
In-Flight Avionics FLIGHT LEVEL NORMAL
Barometric Pressure
938 hPa
MIN EYE: 938 mb
SFMR Surface Wind
135 KT
CATEGORY 4 PEAK
Flight Level Wind
142 KT
ALT: 10,000 FT PA
Radar Eye Distance
0.0 NM
CENTER VORTEX
Pre-Plotted Recon Patterns
Releases RD94 Dropsonde measuring T, Td, Pressure & Horizontal Drift
NOAA Multi-Mode Tail Doppler & Lower Fuselage Radar (PPI) RANGE: 60 NM
A/C: NOAA 43 (Miss Piggy)
CORE: Lowell (938 hPa)
SFMR: 135 kt
Light (20-30 dBZ) Heavy Eyewall (45-55 dBZ) Extreme Vortex (>55 dBZ)
16.4°N 148.8°W
Click or drag on the radar scope to immediately steer Miss Piggy to target waypoint.
Atmospheric Sounding & Eyewall Profile 3 SONDES DEPLOYED
Eyewall Stadium-Effect Slope & Radial Wind Profile
Latest Dropsonde Sounding (Temp vs Dewpoint / Drift)
In-Situ Dropsonde Records (RD94)
# LOC PRES WIND STATUS
01 OUTER 1002 mb 58 kt SPLASH (VALID)
02 EYEWALL 954 mb 135 kt PEAK (VALID)
03 EYE 938 mb 12 kt MIN PRESS (VALID)
Pacific Reconnaissance Briefing: Hurricane Lowell • Hawaii Approach SOURCE: NOAA / FOX NEWS CAPTURE
The "Miss Piggy" WP-3D Penetration:
NOAA 43 (Lockheed WP-3D Orion "Miss Piggy") and its sister ship NOAA 42 ("Kermit") are purpose-built flying research stations that regularly withstand severe structural G-loads to pierce tropical cyclone eyewalls. On this mission, instruments penetrate Lowell's northeast eyewall, recording 135-knot sustained surface winds via Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometers (SFMR).
The Eyewall Stadium Effect:
In mature Category 4 systems like Lowell, centrifugal force and strong radial outward buoyancy force cause the clouds of the eyewall to flare outward with increasing altitude, resembling a sports stadium. At 10,000 feet flight level, the diameter of the eye is often 5-10 nautical miles wider than at the ocean surface.
Central Pressure & Hawaii Track:
The dropsonde deployed in the center vortex measured a minimum sea-level pressure of 938 hPa (millibars). As Lowell barrels westward across warm Central Pacific waters (SST 28.5°C) toward the Hawaiian Islands, in-situ flight-level data feeds directly into the HAFS and GFS models to calibrate intensity forecasts.
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