‘Hurricane Hunter’ Rallies Crowds Along East Coast
Dennis Feltgen
NOAA National Hurricane Center
May 15, 2009 — When NOAA’s P-3 “hurricane hunter” flies into town, people pay attention. And, that’s the whole point.
The five-day Hurricane Awareness Tour to storm-prone regions of the East Coast began May 4 in Newington, N.H, followed by stops in Farmingdale (Long Island), N.Y.; Raleigh, N.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and Key West, Fla.
More than 2000 people toured NOAA’s P-3 “hurricane hunter” during its stop in Raleigh, N.C., as part of the East Coast Hurricane Awareness Tour. Photo credit: Dennis Feltgen, NOAA.
As many as 400 to 600 students visited the aircraft at each stop. The largest public turnout, however, was in Raleigh, N.C., where more than 2,000 people lined up to learn more about hurricane preparedness despite an hour delay due to thunderstorms.
“Each of the five NOAA weather forecast offices involved did an outstanding job in organizing the event in their area,” said NOAA NHC Public Affairs Specialist Dennis Feltgen. “This is a big task. We received many compliments from the visitors to the aircraft.”