NASA Embarks on International Mission to Improve Severe Winter Weather Forecasting
A team of NASA scientists has embarked on a groundbreaking airborne campaign, dubbed the North American Upstream Feature-Resolving and Tropopause Uncertainty Reconnaissance Experiment (NURTURE), aimed at enhancing severe winter weather forecasting. This comprehensive endeavor utilizes an array of cutting-edge remote sensing instruments to collect atmospheric data, shedding light on winter storms' development, trajectory, and intensity.
From January 24th, the research team boarded a Gulfstream III aircraft from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, en route to Goose Bay, Canada. Over the next month, the plane will traverse the Northern Atlantic Ocean, swooping through Canada and the Northeast United States to gather crucial data on moisture, clouds, and ozone as winter storms unfold.
The NURTURE campaign marks an exciting milestone in NASA's mission to leverage its expertise and resources for the betterment of humanity. By outfitting its aircraft with bespoke instruments designed to translate scientific data into actionable insights, NASA is poised to revolutionize our understanding of severe weather events. As noted by Will McCarty, weather program manager at NASA's Headquarters, "Part of NASA's role is to harness innovation to benefit humankind."
This ambitious endeavor will be complemented by parallel missions from international partners, including the North Atlantic Waveguide, Dry Intrusion, and Downstream Impact Campaign (NAWDIC), led by a team from Shannon, Ireland. Meanwhile, NOAA will be conducting its own airborne mission to investigate moisture transport in the Western United States.
By combining data from these campaigns, scientists hope to unravel the complex dynamics driving high-impact winter weather events, including cold air outbreaks, windstorms, hazardous seas, and extreme precipitation. The insights gleaned from NURTURE will inform first responders, decision-makers, and the public sooner, ultimately saving lives and mitigating national security threats.
Amin Nehrir, a research scientist at NASA Langley and co-investigator for the NURTURE mission, emphasizes the significance of this endeavor: "Severe weather events are not forecasted with sufficient accuracy. By utilizing cutting-edge technology beyond that available in space, we can gather more accurate data on atmospheric dynamics."
This mission is funded by NASA's Earth Science Division and managed by researchers at NASA Langley and NASA Ames, in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma. As Steven Cavallo, principal investigator for NURTURE and lead scientist at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology, remarks: "Severe weather effects have significant costs that threaten lives and national security by destabilizing supply chains and damaging infrastructure."
A team of NASA scientists has embarked on a groundbreaking airborne campaign, dubbed the North American Upstream Feature-Resolving and Tropopause Uncertainty Reconnaissance Experiment (NURTURE), aimed at enhancing severe winter weather forecasting. This comprehensive endeavor utilizes an array of cutting-edge remote sensing instruments to collect atmospheric data, shedding light on winter storms' development, trajectory, and intensity.
From January 24th, the research team boarded a Gulfstream III aircraft from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, en route to Goose Bay, Canada. Over the next month, the plane will traverse the Northern Atlantic Ocean, swooping through Canada and the Northeast United States to gather crucial data on moisture, clouds, and ozone as winter storms unfold.
The NURTURE campaign marks an exciting milestone in NASA's mission to leverage its expertise and resources for the betterment of humanity. By outfitting its aircraft with bespoke instruments designed to translate scientific data into actionable insights, NASA is poised to revolutionize our understanding of severe weather events. As noted by Will McCarty, weather program manager at NASA's Headquarters, "Part of NASA's role is to harness innovation to benefit humankind."
This ambitious endeavor will be complemented by parallel missions from international partners, including the North Atlantic Waveguide, Dry Intrusion, and Downstream Impact Campaign (NAWDIC), led by a team from Shannon, Ireland. Meanwhile, NOAA will be conducting its own airborne mission to investigate moisture transport in the Western United States.
By combining data from these campaigns, scientists hope to unravel the complex dynamics driving high-impact winter weather events, including cold air outbreaks, windstorms, hazardous seas, and extreme precipitation. The insights gleaned from NURTURE will inform first responders, decision-makers, and the public sooner, ultimately saving lives and mitigating national security threats.
Amin Nehrir, a research scientist at NASA Langley and co-investigator for the NURTURE mission, emphasizes the significance of this endeavor: "Severe weather events are not forecasted with sufficient accuracy. By utilizing cutting-edge technology beyond that available in space, we can gather more accurate data on atmospheric dynamics."
This mission is funded by NASA's Earth Science Division and managed by researchers at NASA Langley and NASA Ames, in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma. As Steven Cavallo, principal investigator for NURTURE and lead scientist at the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology, remarks: "Severe weather effects have significant costs that threaten lives and national security by destabilizing supply chains and damaging infrastructure."
. Like, who doesn’t want to know more about those crazy snowstorms or hurricanes, right? It makes total sense that they’re collaborating with other countries on this mission too - it's all about sharing knowledge and resources for the greater good 
.
? It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. And I love how they're saying that this mission is all about harnessing innovation to benefit humanity - that's what science is all about, right? 
this is literally the most amazing thing i've read about all year! a team of nasa scientists are on an aircraft collecting data to help us predict winter storms way better... like, can you even imagine?! 
it's so cool that they're using remote sensing instruments and flying around canada and the northeast united states to gather info. and it's not just one country doing this, there's an international team working together to get more accurate data on severe weather events.
but also what a great point that we need to be able to predict these storms better so we can save lives and mitigate national security threats. i mean, it's not just about being prepared for snowdays or whatever, it's literally life and death stuff!
And it's not just about saving lives, but also about minimizing damage to our infrastructure, like power lines, homes, etc. I mean, have you ever experienced a winter storm where your power went out for days? Not fun! 
So yeah, this mission is like, super important and I'm all about it 
#NURTUREmission is gonna be a game changer! They're flying high in the Gulfstream III, collecting data on moisture, clouds, and ozone as those winter storms roll in 
. Can't wait to see what insights they uncover about cold air outbreaks, windstorms, and extreme precipitation 
#ScienceSavesLives. With international partners like NAWDIC from Ireland, this is gonna be a global effort 
#GlobalWeatherCoop. We need better forecasting tools to save lives and mitigate national security threats 
#WeatherResilienceMatters
I mean, can you imagine being able to predict severe winter weather way more accurately? Like, we could know exactly when to stock up on supplies and what areas are gonna get hit hard. That would be literally lifesaving! 
I wish I could join them on this plane ride lol but someone's gotta stay behind and keep the internet running