Thousands Turn Out for 2008 Gulf Coast Hurricane Awareness Tour

(April 14 - 18, 2008) - The 2008 Hurricane Awareness Tour was a resounding success as thousands of students, visitors, local officials and representatives from the media turned out to tour NOAA's WP-3 Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft on its five-day, five-city tour of the Gulf Coast.

In addition to the flight crew and hurricane specialists, National Weather Service Southern Region Director Bill Proenza, National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read and numerous staff members from National Weather Service forecast offices were on hand to greet the visitors and answer questions.

The tour included stops in Corpus Christi and Galveston, Texas; New Orleans, La.; and, Apalachicola and Fort Myers, Fla.

The team of hurricane experts was also joined by local and state emergency management officials and various non-profit organizations, such as the American Red Cross. Over the last 25 years, the hurricane awareness tours have alternated between the Gulf and Atlantic coasts.

Designed to encourage hurricane awareness and preparedness, each year's tour is a forerunner of NOAA's national Hurricane Preparedness Week, which will take place the week of May 25. The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and ends on November 30.

For more information on hurricane preparedness, visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml.