This hurricane season, which ends on November 30, has seen a variety of new instruments put to the test during 11 hurricanes, including five that made landfall.

One of the latest innovations is a small device called the StreamSonde. This compact cylinder resembles a scene from the movie “Twister,” where characters deploy handmade sensors into a tornado. In that film, the scientists dubbed their creation Dorothy.

When Joshua Wadler, an assistant professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, first saw the StreamSonde at a technology review, he instantly thought, “It’s Dorothy.”

StreamSondes, weighing just half an ounce and slightly larger than a tall beer can, are equipped with sensors that measure extreme conditions within a hurricane’s eyewall. These devices are ejected through a chute from a Hurricane Hunter aircraft, allowing observers to glimpse deep into the hurricane as they deploy.

This lightweight yet robust instrument is part of a growing collection of technologies that researchers like Wadler use to acquire vital insights regarding these powerful and dangerous storms.

The array of tools includes uncrewed aircraft, underwater gliders, and Saildrones that navigate through turbulent ocean waves. These technologies are developed through joint efforts among research institutions, private sectors, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The objective is to enhance forecasts that ensure safety and facilitate informed decision-making during hurricanes. John Cortinas, former director of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and now NOAA Research’s deputy assistant administrator for science, emphasizes the need to better understand how hurricanes form and die off.

A Mission to Enhance Hurricane Knowledge

The goal is to refine forecasts regarding a hurricane’s formation, its path, intensity, and the chance of rapid intensification, as demonstrated by Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico in October, which saw wind speeds increase by 65 mph in just 24 hours.

When hurricanes reach land, understanding what is happening at the surface is crucial for making critical decisions, such as whether or not to evacuate, explained Joseph Cione, lead meteorologist for NOAA’s hurricane research division.

These modern research tools can access hurricane layers that traditional Hurricane Hunter aircraft cannot reach, particularly close to the surface where the atmosphere interacts with the ocean.

“We’re particularly interested in the atmospheric conditions right above the ocean surface,” Wadler noted. “This is where the atmosphere takes in energy from the ocean to intensify, and currently, we lack other means to gather data from down there.”

By collecting this data, researchers aim to deepen their understanding of the dynamics within hurricanes and the factors that lead to changes.

NOAA is committed to understanding the possible effects of storms on communities along their paths. “We aim to enhance predictions of impacts in areas away from the storm’s center, such as the tornadoes generated during Hurricane Milton or the heavy rainfall in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene,” Wadler explained.

Instruments measure wind speeds, salinity, temperature, and other vital parameters, providing real-time data from within the storm that is shared with National Hurricane Center forecasters. Some data also enhances computer models that guide forecasting efforts.

“Improved models lead to better forecasts, which ultimately help safeguard property and save lives—this is NOAA’s primary mission,” Cione stated.

Innovative Technologies for Hurricane Research

Wadler, who conducted post-graduate studies with NOAA before joining Embry-Riddle as a professor, participates in a NOAA committee focusing on new observational technologies and operational advancements (NEOTAC). He encountered StreamSonde for the first time during one of these meetings.

StreamSondes were developed by Skyfora, a company based in Finland, with support from the European Space Agency. These devices were first utilized in a hurricane during Hurricane Nigel in the summer of 2023, and this season marked the first instance of their large-scale deployment.

This year, Wadler participated in a flight where StreamSondes were released into the hurricane Francine. These devices measure humidity, allowing researchers to observe dryness on the storm’s southern side, which affects its strength, while the northern side remains moist, according to Wadler.

StreamSondes are a compact and lighter alternative to dropsondes, which are larger cylindrical instruments used to collect data inside hurricanes and have been utilized by hurricane hunters since the 1970s.

The research efforts also encompass uncrewed aircraft systems designed to penetrate the strongest winds of a hurricane for an extended duration, gathering consistent data. This includes the Black Swift SO, developed by Black Swift Technologies in association with Embry-Riddle and the University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies.

The innovative uncrewed systems are created to gather information that dropsondes cannot capture while descending through the storm layers. Even with 20 dropsondes deployed, it only generates 20 data points throughout the storm, Wadler stated. However, when an uncrewed system can fly longer at lower altitudes, it can gather significantly more data, leading to a better understanding of the processes at play.

While flying into Francine, they released the Black Swift SO, NOAA’s lightest drone, which weighs just three pounds.

Gathering Data on Hurricane Winds

In August, four Black Swift SO drones were sent directly into Hurricane Ernesto’s eye, launched from NOAA’s P-3 aircraft. While circling the eye, the drones descended to as low as 200 feet. A press release noted that they collected data for about 200 minutes, which included one continuous flight lasting 77 minutes.

Overall, 19 Black Swifts were deployed this year, including during the storms Helene and Milton, where one of the drones recorded wind speeds reaching 240 mph at around 1,300 feet, according to Wadler.

Featuring an 8-foot wingspan, the Altius-600 drone was first used in hurricane research in 2022, when it was deployed into the eye of Hurricane Ian. It flew down to 200 feet above sea level and recorded wind speeds of 216 mph at one point. This drone was developed by Anduril Industries, a defense technology firm.

Additional research tools include Saildrones, large autonomous ocean drones that record oceanic and atmospheric conditions such as temperature, wind speed and direction, salinity, humidity, pressure, and wave height.

The Saildrones gained public attention when one captured stunning footage of 90-foot waves during Category 4 Hurricane Sam in 2021. This past summer, they collected video and data during hurricanes Beryl, Debby, Ernesto, Milton, and Helene.

To learn more about NOAA’s research tools, watch the following videos:

• Black Swift SO
• Altius-600
• Gliders
• Dropsondes and Streamsonde