Over Houston early this past Saturday evening, contrails (aka vapor trails) filled the nearly cloudless sky. Peculiar, as the long, white traces were not the usual straight lines from horizon to horizon but were lazy ovals and broad s-curves — back and forth, ’round and ’round. To make matters worse, all this was happening on [...]
Flat roofs and heavy snow are not a good combination. Outside view: DCjet at Dulles International Airport. Inside view: DCjet at Dulles International Airport. As if fixing the hanger roof wasn’t going to be expensive enough…
You’ve been hiding under a rock since the 1940s if you’re unaware airplanes have been flying into hurricanes to send back detailed and otherwise unobtainable information to weather forecasters. One of NOAA’s (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) missions is penetrating hurricanes from their base in Florida. They use jet aircraft for high-altitude research and turbo-props [...]
Remember this past summer when we saw a 747 jumbo jet dropping fire retardant over the forests of southern California? The evening news was dominated by such images, along with the widespread devastation brought about by the nearly uncontrollable forest fires. A Boeing 747 bomber from Evergreen International. Image: Goleta Air & Space It [...]
Today is the 28th anniversary of the crash of Air Florida’s Flight 90 into the icy Potomac River near Washington DC; January 13, 1982. Source: Wiki This is one of those events that I remember exactly where I was when it happened. I was a young Air Force meteorologist stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. [...]
As we approach the 28th anniversary of the iced-over Air Florida flight (Jan 13, 1982) that plunged into the frigid Potomac River shortly after take-off from then-named Washington National Airport, and as we draw to a close what may be the coldest week of the 2009-2010 season, how many of you have been delayed at [...]