Archived News
The hardware work has been completed on Texas Tech's second Ka-band Doppler radar system (TTUKA-2) and testing has begun on the radar system. The radar is teh second of 2 state-of-the art Ka-band mobile Doppler systems. The tow are the first mobile Ka-band research radars in the world. Both systems were funded through a research grant from Texas Tech's Office of the Vice President for Research. TTUKA-2 will be fully operational for the upcomming 2010 edition of the VORTEX 2 field project.
The Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society at Texas Tech along with the National Weather Service, KCBD News Channel 11, and the Science Spectrum hosted Lubbock's 4th annual severe weather awareness day on February 27. The event wrapped up the National Weather Service's severe weather awareness week. Activities included hands-on weather experiments for kids of all ages, live demonstrations, information on severe weather preparedness, and door prizes. Instrumentation, including StickNet Trailer 2 and the TTUKA-1 mobile Doppler radar were on display for the general public. The National Weather Service, whose regional offices are located in the Science Spectrum building,provided a certified Storm Spotter Training seminar and guided tours of their offices to the general public. Over 1200 people attended the 6 hour event.
Graduate students Ian Giammanco (Wind Engineering) and Scott Gunter (Atmospheric Science) presented their ongoing research at the 2010 Lubbock Severe Weather Conference. The conference was co-hosted by the National Weather Service and Texas Tech University. Giammanco discussed the uses of the WSR-88D Doppler radar system to derive hurricane boundary layer wind profiles and provided some examples from his research. Scott Gunter discussed some preliminary results of a dual-Doppler analysis of rainband features during Hurricane Frances (2004). Conference participants were also given a tour of the Wind Science and Engineering Research facility at Reese Technology Center.
Justin Weaver, Meteorologist-in-charge at the Lubbock WFO, opens the 2010 Lubbock Severe Weather Conference.
Live Science - Research in Action
November 9-10, 2009
TTUHRT member Tanya Brown inspects a StickNet probe following Tropical Storm Ida. Photo by Ian Giammanco.
Tropical Storm Ida made landfall near Dauphin Island, AL on November 10, 2009. Ida marked the first deployment of Texas Tech's new Ka-band mobile Doppler radar system into a landfalling tropical cyclone. TTUKA-1 collected approximately 8 hours of radar data from marine exposure from Gulf Shores, AL. In addition, seven StickNets were deployed from Dauphin Island eastward through Orange Beach in an effort to collect data from the immediate shoreline. Both instrument platforms were able to observe the beginning of Ida's transition to an extra-tropical system. TTUHRT coordinated deployments with other Digital Hurricane Consortium groups. For summary data collected from StickNet probes during Tropical Storm Ida please see our Tropical Storm Ida page.
October 2, 2009
TTUHRT member Tanya Brown discusses the StickNet platforms and the TTUHRT deployment for Hurricane Ike with members of the Osher Lifelong Learners Institute. Photo by Ian Giammanco.
The Osher Lifelong Learners Institute toured the Wind Science and Engineering Resse Technology Center facility. The group participated in instrumentation displays featuring TTUHRT's StickNet platforms as well as the new TTUKA-1 and TTUKA-2 mobile Doppler radars. The tour was led by TTUHRT member Brian Hirth. In addition, TTUHRT member Tanya Brown provided background information on past deployments, including VORTEX 2 and Hurricane Ike in 2008 while radar engineer Jerry Guynes discussed the new technologies employed during the development of the new radar systems.
Infrared satellite image of Hurricane Bill at 1415 UTC on August 17 2009. Image courtesy of NOAA.
StickNet probes deployed for hurricane testing at the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center's field site. In the back ground is the Reese Center West Texas Mesonet observing station. Photo by Ian Giammanco.
July 2009
Following a sucessful VORTEX 2 field campaign, TTUHRT instrumentation is in the process of being readied for the 2009 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Team members have been working to complete instrumentation maintenance and repairs following exhaustive use during the VORTEX 2 field project. NOAA and Colorado State University both predict a near normal hurricane season, due in part to a developing weak El Nino event which is projected to take hold during the peak of the hurricane season.
March, 23-26 2009
TTUHRT instrumentation, including a StickNet trailer and TTU-Ka 1 Mobile radar were on display in San Antonio as part of the Governor's Homeland Security and Hurricane Conference. TTUHRT director, Dr. John Schroeder also co-chaired a workshop on how hurricanes are measured and understanding the limitations of the Safir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Also part of the Texas Tech exhibit was information on the West Texas Mesonet , the history of the Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team, a real-time display from a StickNet probe, and information on TTUHRT deployments during the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
Jan 5-6, 2009
Photo of TTU Stick-Net Probes and graduate students Ian Giammanco and Brian Hirth fielding questions during the Digital Hurricane Symposium. The NOAA XP Mobile Radar is in the background
July - 2008
TTU graduate Dr. Sylvie Lorsolo at the radar/dropwindsonde console onboard a NOAA P-3 Hurricane Hunter aircraft. Photo by Mike Black.
Former Atmospheric Science student Sylvie Lorsolo made her first flight with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters on July 22. Lorsolo made three flights into Hurricane Dolly as the radar scientist onboard the NOAA P-3 aircraft. Dr. Lorsolo earned her PhD in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech in 2006. Her research focused on using SMART-Radar data to document coherent turbulent structures in the hurricane boundary layer. She was a part of the TTUHRT SMART-Radar and tower deployment teams for Hurricane Isabel (2003) and Hurricane Frances (2004). Lorsolo, a native of Martinque, is a research scientist at the University of Miami and NOAA Hurricane Research Division.
