KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. —  

With the 2024 hurricane season fast approaching, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host a series of events to help Caribbean communities prepare.

National Hurricane Center personnel along with others, will visit vulnerable communities to discuss hurricane preparedness, resilience, and how people can become weather-ready ahead of hurricane season.

Tours of the Air Force Reserve Command’s WC-130J “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft will showcase how scientists collect data about hurricanes. 

The Atlantic basin hurricane season begins on June 1. During hurricanes, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aircrews with the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, fly state-of-the-art WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft directly into the core of the storm to gather critical data for forecasting a hurricane’s intensity and landfall. This information is sent in real-time via satellite from the aircraft directly to the NHC for analysis and use by hurricane forecasters. 

Experts will be available for interviews to include:

• Michael Brennan, NHC director
• Daniel Brown, NHC senior hurricane specialist
• Gladys Rubio, NHC meteorologist 
• Jose Alamo, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center International Desk, meteorologist
• U.S. Air Force reservists from the 53rd WRS stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi
• Danielle Varwing, NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center, G-IV pilot

Tour stops:

• April 16, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau, Bahamas
• April 18, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados
• April 19, 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Hewanorra International Airport, St. Lucia 
• April 20, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Rafael Hernández International Airport, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

For information, please contact Maria Torres at [email protected], 305-433-1933, or Lt. Col. Marnee Losurdo, U.S. Air Force Reserve, 403rd Wing Public Affairs, [email protected], (228) 377-5275.