NOAA, Far More Than Just Hurricane Hunters

By Jamie Beckett

Not so long ago, Kenneth Brewer was a student at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. His heart was set on becoming an officer in the U.S. Marines. His specific goal was to become what was once known as a Flying Leatherneck – a U.S. Marine pilot.

That goal shifted dramatically after he attended a career fair while in college. Brewer met a pilot there who was dressed in a peculiar uniform he didn’t recognize. Brewer wondered, “Why are you dressed like an astronaut but you have the rank of a Naval officer.” He simplified his question and posed it to this oddly attired gentleman, “What are you?” It turned out he was a P3 Orion pilot. A true Hurricane Hunter.

That chance encounter led Brewer to revise his goals and seek out a deeply satisfying career with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Today he wears the rank of Lt. JG (Lieutenant junior grade) as a DHC-6 pilot and Programs Officer for perhaps the least well understood branch of the United States Services. His call sign is, The Mayor.

When asked if he thinks the general public is aware of what NOAA is and the importance of the missions they carry out, Brewer replies simply, “Most people aren’t.” Little wonder. A quick visit to the NOAA website will confirm that NOAA’s reach extends “from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor.” That is an impressively large area of operation. One few of us think of as our own domain. But NOAA does.

Unlike the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines which all fall under the Department of Defense, NOAA falls under the umbrella of the Commerce Department, and for good reason. They deal in science with a mission to monitor and protect the nation by using the knowledge they acquire in the course of doing their work.

“On the officer’s side we are the ship drivers,” Brewer explains. “We are the pilots. We’re the aviators, the navigators. We do all the line office work.” Even a short conversation with The Mayor makes it clear that NOAA and its staff do far more exciting, important, and challenging work than most people even dream possible. “On the civilian side we have meteorologists, technicians, engineers, mechanics, and support staff.”

Based out of a purpose-built structure that encloses approximately 270,000 square feet of hangars, offices, and storage, NOAA is the driver for a host of impressive operations that range from the Arctic Circle to the tropics.

Another way NOAA differs from the other branches of service is that NOAA is small. “We are the smallest service,” Brewer admits. A staff of just 321 commissioned officers work hand in hand with the organization’s more than 11,000 civilian employees to protect the nation’s resources and environment through scientific research.

Science. That’s what hooked Brewer after considering his options following that career fair when he was in college. “I get to be an officer who serves my nation,” says Brewer. “While doing science in the fringes of the Arctic and down in these horrible hurricanes down in the Caribbean. And, I still get to be a pilot.”

The lifestyle and the work appealed to Brewer as much as the people he got to work with at NOAA. “They have a lot of my same interests,” he acknowledges. “They love being outside. They love science.” With a chuckle he suggests, “These are basically nerds that fly and go to sea.”

Perhaps the best-known aspect of NOAA’s work is their fleet of Hurricane Hunter aircraft. The turboprop powered P3 Orions fly into the heart of the storms at between 8,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level. The scientists inside those aircraft are taking measurements and determining the strength of the beast as it treks toward the mainland.

Above the fray flies a NOAA Gulfstream G-IV, soon to be replaced by a G-V. The jet flies high, in the realm of 41,000 to 45,000 feet to monitor the storm and track its movements.

“Forty to fifty years ago,” Brewer says, “we could tell you within 200 miles where that storm is going to hit.” Today, that cone of confusion has been narrowed down considerably. While tracking storms in recent years Brewer says, “We were able to narrow that to one mile prediction of exactly where the hurricane is going to go.”

That precision is a lifesaver for folks on the ground in the affected areas. Knowing whether to evacuate, which direction to evacuate in, and when to go can make all the difference. The folks prepping, flying, and monitoring the scientific instrumentation on these aircraft are truly unsung heros.

Hurricanes and tropical cyclones are not all NOAA tracks, however. And yes, a tropical cyclone is different than a hurricane in the sense that it exists south of the equator. So, it rotates the opposite way. One of Brewer’s favorite assignments is snow surveys. “It’s 500 feet terrain following through the mountains up in the Northeast, and all throughout the mid-west.

Snow is a natural feature of the northern latitudes during the winter months. By tracking the depth of the snow and its water content, NOAA scientists can predict how fast the snow melt will occur. More importantly, they can postulate where that water will flow, and how high the risk of flooding might be.

This can be especially critical in low lying areas, such as river basins where ice floes can block free drainage during a sudden increase in the Spring melt. With NOAA providing input in advance, ground and water borne forces can prepare to clear the blockages, preventing untold property damage as well as the life-threatening risk to the population of the affected areas.

Snow surveys are flown with NOAA’s lighter aircraft. Typically, Beechcraft King Air and DeHavilland Twin Otter equipment. These are Brewer’s favorite aircraft to fly.

Even that isn’t a full picture of all the work NOAA does, however. As they say in the late-night television infomercials…there’s more!

NOAA crews also track at risk species in their natural habitat, such as Right Whales, Leatherback Turtles, sea lions, and dolphins. They track and protect fisheries. They analyze air quality and pollutants from forest fires. All of which makes sense when you realize that NOAA’s Mission Statement is a simple three word declaration. “Science. Service. Stewardship.”

Thankfully, Kennieth Brewer was able to turn a chance meeting into a whole new career path that has matched his professional and personal lifestyle goals perfectly. “There’s opportunities out there beyond what you see,” Brewer says.

Truer words were never spoke.

https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/noaa-corps/join/applying