NOAA, a Commerce Department agency, is inviting residents to view the aircraft and increase their awareness of hurricane warning and readiness efforts, as well as learn more about the vital role played by the media and local, state and federal agencies in emergency situations. During the six-day tour, a team of NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency and American Red Cross representatives will meet with the public, local safety officials and the news media to focus public attention on hurricane safety, according to team leader Ronald McPherson, who serves as director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, parent agency of the National Hurricane Center.
Preparation is everyone's responsibility.
NOAA's P-3 Orion flying laboratory will be open to the public at each stop where town meetings and other activities will also be featured to engage communities in hurricane awareness, McPherson said. The heavily instrumented, turbo-prop Lockheed aircraft is one of two operated by NOAA for hurricane tracking and oceanographic and atmospheric research. Miss. While airborne, both types of aircraft can transmit detailed measurements on storm location via satellite to the Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., the nation's nerve center for tropical storm and hurricane warning information.