NOAA

MONTEREY, Calif. – Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory advanced their ongoing work to understand and predict formation of pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds in 2019, collected the most detailed sampling of the clouds in history.

PyroCbs are massive thunderstorm clouds created by heat and fire. Such clouds, which can reach heights of more than 8 kilometers, heave intense wind, thunderbolts, and smoke toward anything in their path—sometimes even igniting new fires.

Between July and September, NRL meteorologists took part in multi-agency studies of pyroCbs in the western and central United States.

PyroCbs: intense storms reaching into the stratosphere

Fires leave little time to escape, and wreak mass destruction. It’s no wonder NASA refers to the pyroCb as “the fire-breathing dragon of clouds.”

But unlike threats posed by dragons, the devastating power of fire is all too real, and the implications of large fires don’t stop on the ground. Large fires can extend their destructive force high into the atmosphere, drawing smoke and particulates.

“They [pyroCbs] act as giant chimneys, transporting smoke from the ground to high altitudes,” said Dave Peterson, meteorologist at NRL. “Intense pyroCbs can inject smoke into the lower stratosphere, where it can persist for weeks or months.”

Typically, smoke, ash and other pollutants produced by fires are contained within the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere, where they are removed quickly through normal weather processes like precipitation. When they reach the stratosphere, these substances block sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface, and become radiated by the sun, which can alter the altitude and chemical composition of the smoke plume.

Warm, dry environments here in the U.S. create ample opportunity for pyroCbs to thrive. In 2018, the Carr Fire burned for 164 days in California. It killed three, destroyed or damaged more than 1,800 structures, and charred approximately 229,651 acres. The destructive force of the Carr Fire did not stop on the ground — it was so strong it created a pyroCb, carrying smoke well above jet aircraft cruising altitudes.

The largest known pyroCb event occurred in British Columbia in 2017, and rivaled a moderate volcanic eruption, Peterson said.

Peterson detailed his research “Wildfire-driven thunderstorms cause a volcano-like stratospheric injection of smoke” in a 2018 paper published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science.

A new frontier in meteorology

NRL has been a pioneer in the pyroCb research community since the late 90s, when researcher Mike Fromm and his partner, René Servranckx from the Canadian Meteorological Centre, first discovered the pyroCb phenomenon.

In 1998, Fromm and Servranckx ran analysis on clouds forming in the northern and southern hemispheres using NRL’s Polar Oxone and Aerosol Measurement satellite (POAM III) and saw something puzzling.

“I started to see things that looked like polar stratospheric clouds,” Fromm said. “But they were occurring in the summer time, not in winter.”

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are clouds that develop in the extremely low temperatures of the polar stratosphere in winter. The clouds he observed existed in temperatures too warm to create a PSC.

“They looked like PSCs but could not be PSCs, so we had to look for another explanation,” he said. “I found almost immediately that people expected layers like this to be caused by volcanoes. So I explored the possibility of a volcano.”

According to Fromm, volcanoes were known to create aerosol layers that look similar to polar stratospheric clouds. Scientists generally assumed these layers occurred from volcanic eruptions, which was the only known way to get such a large amount of aerosols into the stratosphere. So dominant was this assumption that even unreported volcanic eruptions were suspected even when none could be found.

“There was no volcano I could link,” Fromm said. “So I was left with a puzzle.”

He was able to trace the aerosol layers he saw back to a major wildfire. He continued to dig into decades of research and discovered several of the previously assumed volcanic eruptions were actually caused by pyroCb events.

Today, a growing number of researchers study pyroCbs in hopes of gaining a better understanding of how these storms impact climate over time. But the number of experts and data available are still relatively scarce; the science is still in its infancy.

Collaborating with NASA, NOAA, and academia

Peterson believes the key to improve our understanding of pyroCbs is to obtain detailed measurements of their outflow, a residual smoke layer or an “anvil ice cloud.”

“In the early stages of the pyroCb, an active thunderstorm updraft is present over the fire,” Peterson said. “The cloud flattens out as it pushes up against the tropopause [boundary between troposphere and stratosphere] forming an anvil cloud. Eventually, the pyroCb updraft dissipates, the high-altitude anvil cloud drifts downwind and also dissipates, and you are left with a residual smoke layer in either the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere.”

To get outflow measurements scientists must anticipate and track when and where a pyroCb may occur, and have the appropriate aircraft with a variety of instruments (and the scientists to operate them) readily available to fly at just the right altitude to capture the data. It’s complicated, and requires extensive coordination.

Nevertheless, a joint NASA and NOAA venture, Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments Experiment – Air Quality (FIREX-AQ), was able to do just that. Taking place July 23 to Aug. 18 in Boise, Idaho, and Aug. 20 to Sept. 5 in Salina, Kansas, it was one of the largest field experiments dedicated to the sampling and characterization of fires and their impacts from the point of emission.

Throughout the campaign, researchers investigated the impact on air quality and climate from wildfires and agricultural fires across the continental United States. Peterson served as the lead for the multidisciplinary fire and weather forecasting team and worked closely with Edward Hyer, a meteorologist at NRL, who also participated in the campaign.

Each morning Peterson and his team of more than 10 researchers and interns reviewed computer models, based on satellite observations and existing data about fire behavior, and delivered the fire and weather forecast to campaign participants. Those forecasts told researchers when and where to fly and drive to collect the most data at a given time. According to NOAA, researchers will eventually use FIREX-AQ’s data to make these models even more accurate.

The team began forecasting favorable conditions for pyroCb development in the Pacific Northwest, Aug. 5. Peterson hitched a ride on a NASA DC-8 airborne science laboratory to see a pyroCb for himself, for the first time, Aug. 8. With a camera in tow, he snapped the now famous photos of a pyroCb from the cockpit while flying over the Williams Flats Fire in Washington. This flight provided the most detailed sampling of pyroCb outflow in history.

Now that the campaign is complete, scientists are eager to review the data collected to answer a variety of questions. The detailed observations of the chemistry within pyroCb smoke plumes at high altitudes can contribute to initializing modeling studies that aim to understand the role of pyroCb in the climate system, Peterson said.

“Observations from within the pyroCb ice cloud [anvil] can be used to understand how cloud water droplets and ice particles change in the presence of smoke,” he said. “Remote sensing observations of the contributing fire [Williams Flats] can be used to understand what fire characteristics are required for pyroCb development, such as the overall size of the fire, the dimensions of the flaming region, and how these characteristics evolve prior to pyroCb development.”

Researchers believe they are on the right track to demystify pyroCbs.

“This is a relatively new and interdisciplinary science,” Peterson said. “The next big discovery is likely just around the corner.”

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, Key West, Florida, and Monterey, California, and employs approximately 2,500 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.

When a disaster strikes, first responders want to know what weather conditions might get in the way of an effective response – whether it’s icy roads, flooded rivers or record heat.

That is why when the Washington National Guard Homeland Response Force had the chance to tour the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Western Regional Center in Seattle, they took the opportunity knowing they could learn from the experts.

“I had previously met Reid Wolcott, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, at meetings and training exercises and understand that they play in important role during emergencies and that they have a great deal of capability that can be useful and helpful to us,” said Capt Luis Torres. “My thought process was to increase the awareness and knowledge of the capabilities of the 10th HRF to Reid and his co-workers at NOAA’s National Weather Service and vice versa.”

NOAA’s Western Regional Center houses the largest variety of NOAA programs at a single location in the United States. Its mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.

“Reid shared a lot of information with us and with our intelligence staff,” said Torres. “He showed us how we could utilize the resources available better.”

The NOAA staff showed HRF members where to find high-accuracy weather reports, spot forecasts tailored to different types of incidents including hazardous material incidents and wildfires and the best place to find the most accurate models.

“The information provided by these resources is critical to anticipating weather’s effects on hazardous material incidents and our response operations during an incident,” said Sgt. 1st Class James Peters.

The HRF’s mission is to rapidly deploy with a full suite of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear defense capabilities while supporting and enhancing the state and federal authorities. With the capabilities to activate more than 570 guardsmen to an incident, the HRF can provide mass decontamination, medical triage, security, search and extraction, fatality recovery, communications and command and control.

Not only is the HRF building relationships with NOAA, it continues to work hand in hand with the Washington Emergency Management Division, including EMD employee Patrick Wicklund, who conducts hazmat and continuity of government planning.

“Having Patrick Wicklund in our office is great, it allows face to face time that I think is taken for granted,” said Torres. “It is mutually beneficial. He shares with us, we share with him. Patrick came to NOAA with us.”

The goal of the meetings is to continue building strong relationships among the emergency management professionals, response personnel from the Guard and the weather professionals.

“I would like to take this one step further and set something up with our Air National Guard weather folks that are attached to the HRF and any others that are interested,” said Torres. “These meetings engage our community and develop relationships that will allow to more effectively respond to emergencies in our state.”

As people prepared to celebrate the New Year’s holiday, five Airmen from units across the 557th Weather Wing journeyed to Pasadena, California.

Their mission was to tell the Air Force Weather story at Live on Green!, a free entertainment and education event that precedes the annual Rose Parade and Rose Bowl football game.

“This event enabled our diverse team of Airmen to educate the public about roles and capabilities within Air Force Weather,” said Capt. Jeremy Mayo-Johnson, 14th Weather Squadron climate development analyst and team lead at the event. “We were able to show people of all ages that meteorologists can be more than just weathermen on TV and that the Air Force has a wide variety of career opportunities.”

Live on Green!, now in its fifth year, offers entertainment and education to the 700,000 people who visit Pasadena for the annual parade and football game. Activities offered include musical performances, culinary demos, games and more.

The volunteers came from across the Weather Wing, representing a variety of weather career fields that included the14th Weather Squadron, the Air Force’s only climate operations unit; the 2nd Combat Weather Systems Squadron, which handles equipment testing and maintenance; and the 15th, 17th and 26th Operational Weather Squadrons, which provide tailored weather solutions to optimize the Air Force and Army Total Force missions and mitigate environmental risk to missions and installations across the eastern contiguous United States and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility.

Two Airmen from the 57th Operational Support Squadron’s weather flight, assigned to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, also joined the team.

On display were tools of the weather trade, including a Tactical Meteorological Observing System, handheld weather observing equipment and other visual aids.

As an interactive activity, children were encouraged to make paper airplanes. Their creations were then used to explain aerodynamic principles and meteorological hazards to aviation.

“I believe that our team’s presence and engagement made an impact on many attendees that weekend,” Mayo-Johnson said. “For some, we planted seeds of curiosity in atmospheric science and the military application thereof.”

Also at Live on Green! were representatives from the LA County Sheriff, National Weather Service and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The exhibits collectively focused on weather as well as how to be prepared for severe weather.

In addition to inspiring children’s interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, known as STEM, the event provided valuable insight for hosting educational outreach events in the future.

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, commonly known as the Hurricane Hunters, are the cornerstone for data gathering efforts within storm environments. When they’re not flying into hurricanes they are providing aerial weather reconnaissance for atmospheric rivers over the Pacific Ocean.

“There is no off season for us, after the Hurricane season is done we roll into the Winter Storm season and part of that is providing support for atmospheric rivers off the West Coast,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Rickert, 53rd WRS aerial reconnaissance weather officer. “ARs are flowing columns of water vapor that produce vast amounts of precipitation when they make landfall. The heavy amounts of precipitation can turn into extreme rainfall and snow, which then can cause flooding and mudslides.”

The Hurricane Hunters are slated to perform “AR recon” from January through March. Scientists led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego, working in partnership with the 53rd WRS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service, and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, who will be on standby to fly through these ARs over the Pacific to gather data to improve forecasts. Approximately twelve storms will be flown during that period and deploying up to three planes per storm.

“We’re trying to improve the forecast of atmospheric rivers on the West Coast, because it matters to the people who manage water and deal with the hazards of flood and debris flows,” said F. Martin Ralph, principal investigator for the AR Recon program and director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at Scripps. “We’re all working together to try and figure out how to make the forecast better and AR recon’s data gathering is a vital part of that.”

There are two WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from the 403rd Wing which have staged at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., then moved to Portland, Ore., and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii. One Gulfstream IV from NOAA’s Air Operations Center is also staged out of Portland.

“In many cases ARs are great for the state of California, because they bring 90 percent of the state’s annual precipitation,” said Ralph. “But when the ground is already saturated and more water is added, it can cause hazards, so knowing what is coming helps people to prepare.”

ARs have a great economic impact on California and its residents, said Ralph. They are the dominant cause of flooding and play key roles in drought in West Coast watersheds. Flood costs average about $1 billion dollars a year and produce 25-50 percent of the water supply in key areas of the West.

During AR missions, the 53rd WRS fly up to 30,000 feet to capture as much atmospheric data as possible. The data compiled by dropsondes can create a vertical profile from the aircraft to the surface of the ocean for the research team and forecasters to input in their models.

“We have somewhat of a void in collecting data over the ocean. Satellites have trouble seeing through clouds, thus having an aircraft releasing dropsondes in those areas significantly improves our data and the forecast models.” said Anna Wilson, field research manager of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes. “We have a lot of room for accuracy and prediction improvements, and aerial weather reconnaissance is vital to gathering data from within the atmospheric rivers with lead times of about 3 days to help improve our weather models.”

The data that is collected from the aircraft is uploaded to forecast models, but the three primary models utilized by the research teams are the Naval Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM), the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and NOAA’s Global Forecasting System (GFS) which is produced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

“The observations gathered by the WC-130J definitely help bridge the gaps in data,” said Wilson. “It would be great to have more aircraft, because we have found in our results that all the spatial coverage helps make the impact larger, which helps predict where an atmospheric river will make landfall.”

An AR can be hundreds of miles wide and have their own categories from 1 to 5, the higher the number the increased hazard. An AR can range from 250 – 500 miles wide on average, said Ralph.

“Having the Air Force here on site doing the flight planning with us is extremely helpful on both sides, it makes us more effective and efficient. It’s awesome being able to have them here in person,” said Wilson. “We have a robust team with national and international participation that use the gathered data and input for three of the global forecast models.”

While the aircraft and aircrews can be staged at different locations, there is an additional team working hand-in-hand with the research team at Scripps who are in charge of mission development and coordination with the flying aircrew.

“Being on site really helps prevent miscommunications between the research team and the assets the 53rd has to offer,” said Rickert. “As soon as the research team finds an area of interest for weather observations, we immediately start coordinating a flight plan that is feasible for our crews and make adjustments for times and fuel.”

Rickert said that gathering data from any weather flight ultimately helps the people on the ground who are going to be affected.

“Gathering data from within storm environments is inherently dangerous, but we perform this service all the same, whether it is flying into a CAT 5 hurricane or an AR 5, we collect data in hopes to improve the weather forecast and in turn save lives in the process,” said Rickert.

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard interdicted several foreign fishing vessels fishing inside the US exclusive economic zone on two separate occasions incidents in the first two months of 2020.

“While we’ve seen incursions into the EEZs of partners and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on the high seas, these are the first interdictions we’ve had in the US EEZ since 2012,” said Lt. Jason Holstead, of Coast Guard 14th District Response Enforcement. “The combination of partnerships, electronic methods, and putting assets on the scene to catch violators in the act is essential to deterring IUU fishing in Oceania.”

In both cases, the Coast Guard was conducting maritime domain awareness flights in the zones off Guam and Hawaii with Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft crews based at Air Station Barbers Point.

Case packages were forwarded to the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement for further actions. The investigations are pending.

The living marine resources mission is one of two Coast Guard missions devoted to protecting fisheries inside and outside US waters. While LMR focuses on domestic fisheries, other law enforcement focuses on illegal incursions by foreign fishing vessels into the US EEZ. An EEZ is defined as the region extending 200 miles beyond a nation’s shores. The Coast Guard leverages partnerships and 13 bilateral agreements between the US and other nations in the Pacific to enforce fisheries regulations and combat IUU fishing.

Fishing within the United States generates more than $200 billion and employs 1.7 million people annually. IUU fishing represents an estimated monetary loss of $10 billion to $23 billion for legitimate fishers. Narrow that to focus on Tuna. Globally, commercially landed tuna and tuna products have a value of $10 billion to $12 billion per year to the fishermen who target these species and more than $42 billion per year at the final point of sale. These conservative totals do not account for noncommercial tuna activity including sport fishing and tourism.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pacific Ocean, also known as the “tuna belt”, represents 65 to 70 percent of globally harvested tuna. According to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the international body that manages tuna fishing in the same waters, state fishers caught nearly 2.85 million metric tons of the primary commercial tuna species in 2014. This catch’s worth was valued at more than $5 billion to fishers in the region and more than $22.68 billion at the final point of sale. Tuna caught in the WCPFC Convention Area accounts for more than half of the landings, dock value, and end value of all commercial tuna fisheries.

While the Coast Guard is not the only agency responsible for protecting fisheries, it plays a significant role. The Coast Guard has enforcement authority over 202 separate commercial fisheries.

“While regulation compliance among US fishers is near 97 percent, some of the lowest policed areas, such as the waters in the Western and Central Pacific, are responsible for the highest percentage of significant violations. This is where the efforts of the Coast Guard 14th District and partners are so important,” said Holstead. “In 2019, we conducted numerous routine and analysis-based patrols throughout the region in support of IUU fishing detection and deterrence.”

By K. Cecilia Sequeira, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON — The amount of dust flying out of the Sahara Desert each year is seemingly unfathomable. Every year, 14 million metric tons of transcontinental dust travels across the Atlantic Ocean, said Arunas Kuciauskas, a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory meteorologist who tracks and quantifies the Saharan Air Layer (SAL).

These dust storms envelop whole communities — blanketing homes, cars and people.

NASA research scientists estimate it would take 53,022 semi-trucks to move enough desert sand to equal the amount of dust transported from Northern Africa to the Greater Caribbean annually.

How do these dust clouds affect community health? Can forecasters predict the large dust storms to help prepare affected communities? Healthcare professionals and meteorologists across the globe consider these questions every spring and summer when the northeasterly trade winds begin to pick up Saharan dust and scatter it across thousands of miles.

This meteorological phenomenon involves an extremely hot, dry air mass, carrying large concentrations of Saharan dust from Northern Africa across the Atlantic Ocean into the Greater Caribbean, South America, the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States.

Kuciauskas collaborates with researchers at NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Caribbean organizations to model the Saharan dust storms and provide prediction tools to weather forecasters and healthcare professionals in the affected regions. One of the new forecasting resources he uses to track and quantify SAL events is the NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System or NUCAPS, a software tool that processes radiance data from satellite measurements collected by NOAA’s Joint Polar-orbiting Satellite System (JPSS) into thermodynamic parameters that describe the SAL.

Kuciauskas, the principal investigator for Caribbean dust research at NRL’s Marine Meteorology Division, Monterey, California, has teamed with NOAA Science and Operations Officer Ernesto Rodriguez using NUCAPS to track and measure the size and power of regional dust storms. Rodriguez works at the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Their research will lead to regional weather forecast alerts indicating each system’s severity days before the dust arrives.

Kuciauskas and Rodriguez will establish a baseline expectation for SAL events in the region using a 17-year climatology over the Caribbean and statistical averaging. The San Juan National Weather Service aims to develop a traffic light prediction approach where a “green” Saharan dust event indicates low impact, a “yellow” event is average and a dust storm classified as “red” is dangerous to the affected population.

Once developed, the National Weather Service in San Juan can use the traffic light approach to alert the public to upcoming SAL-related hazardous air quality conditions four to five days in advance. Equipped with sufficient time and information, at-risk populations with respiratory ailments facing a “red” air quality event may choose to stay inside. Residents in affected populations may cover machinery with tarps to avoid clogging mechanical parts. Local flights may adjust course or schedules.

Small aircraft traveling between Caribbean islands are the most affected by SAL events.

“They usually fly at low altitudes, around 3-5 kilometers, where the Saharan dust is transported,” Rodriguez said. “An accurate forecast of a SAL event will provide enough lead time to the aviation and maritime community to plan the operations, taking into account the visibility reduction and the poor air quality.”

The U.S. Navy also benefits from early SAL forecasts. Navy meteorologists monitor weather conditions over huge swaths of ocean and collect data from rawinsondes, which consist of airborne weather instruments used to measure temperature, moisture, and wind profiles from the surface to the top of the earth’s atmosphere. This information is applied to study various weather-related properties of SAL.

Numerous global land-based sites routinely launch rawinsondes. Over the oceans or other bodies of water, rawinsondes are too sparsely located to provide a reasonable picture of SAL events, said Kuciauskas. By contrast, NUCAPS gathers information from satellites that provide continuous measurements over oceans allowing forecasters to see clearly vertical profiles containing similar information to what is available over land.

“In the case of SAL, we are able to create a really good picture on a daily basis on the dryness, temperature and lapse rate,” Kuciauskas said. Using NUCAPS, meteorologists can determine if an incoming SAL event will “come in and stabilize everything versus what it is now,” he said.

Saharan dust storms often overlap with the summer hurricane season creating a curious effect on each other. Saharan dust storms consist of dry, hot air and particulates, while hurricane development relies on wet and relatively cool conditions within its path. When these two systems meet, they cancel each other out or one reduces the impact of the other.

The NUCAPS software allows forecasters to look ahead at air quality and affect SAL events may have on incoming hurricanes. Kuciauskas said Navy forecasters are interested in tracking these storms in the same way as other meteorologists. “If you have that information available, the Navy can plan their daily maneuvers across the Atlantic basin,” said Kuciauskas.

NUCAPS is a publically available tool. Kuciauskas has trained civilian U.S. and international forecasters throughout the Caribbean on how to use the program to profile Saharan dust storms. The new tool is becoming increasingly popular in the region because it distinguishes between different aerosols affecting the Caribbean. NUCAPS provides data on the carbon monoxide and ozone gases and differentiates between a Saharan dust storm and smoke pollution from a fire traveling across the Atlantic.

Kuciauskas plans to introduce and train meteorologists at NRL – Monterey and the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center to leverage NUCAPS for similar regional predictions with designs to become an invaluable addition to global Navy operations.

The team at NRL – Monterey shares thousands of satellite-derived products via NRL’s public websites every day. Early impact warnings associated with Saharan dust storms may eventually enable state and federal agencies to greatly minimize SAL impacts on public health in the Caribbean.

The NUCAPS forecasting tool is part of the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, which every national weather service in the U.S. can access. U.S. Navy meteorologists can also access NUCAPS via the NOAA website.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the Navy and Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi; Key West, Florida; and Monterey, California, and employs approximately 2,500 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.

PENSACOLA, Fla. – U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cypress (WLB-210) helps to keep mariners on course around the resource-rich and storm-prone waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

From Apalachicola, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border, the 225-foot seagoing buoy tender patrols a 900-mile area and maintains the Aids to Navigation (ATON) that guide mariners through some of the busiest waterways in the nation.

Commissioned in 2002, Cypress is responsible for more than 125 floating ATON that mark deep-draft shipping channels and provide markers for shoal water and shipwrecks. The cutter services ATON that guide mariners into Matagorda, Texas; Galveston, Texas; Southwest Pass, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Pensacola, Florida.

“Cypress supports the public and private stakeholders through our contributions to a safe, navigable Marine Transportation System,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher A. Bonner, the commanding officer of the Pensacola, Florida-based buoy tender.

A 12-year Coast Guard veteran from Ashaway, Rhode Island, Bonner has also served on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maple (WLB-207) and U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Fir (WLB-213).

Buoy tenders and the Coast Guard crewmembers who serve on them do the heavy lifting to keep the nation’s maritime economy on course. The U.S. Coast Guard maintains more than 48,000 buoys and beacons across 25,000 miles of inland, intracoastal and coastal waterways. These Aids to Navigation guide millions of mariners and trillions of dollars of trade into the United States. U.S. waterways generated $5.4 trillion in economic activity in 2018.

The Coast Guard recently produced its first ever Maritime Commerce Strategic Outlook to chart the way ahead for its waterways management and navigation systems missions.

Bonner said Cypress is often called to restore Aids to Navigation and reopen ports following hurricanes across the storm-prone region.

“Cypress is one of the ‘go to’ assets during natural disaster response, specifically hurricanes,” said Bonner.

In 2017, Cypress responded to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Following Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018, Cypress helped to reopen 14 major ports in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A multi-mission cutter, Cypress has conducted other operations from responding to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak to maintaining National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather buoys that provide weather data to mariners.

Cypress crewmembers have also saved lives during search and rescue missions and defended the nation’s maritime borders during interdiction operations. In spring 2007, Cypress completed her first extended Alien Migrant Interdiction Operations (AMIO) patrol for Coast Guard District Seven. During this patrol, Cypress successfully interdicted two go-fast smuggler vessels and seven suspected smugglers. Cypress crewmembers also processed more than 75 illegal migrants.

Across the Gulf Coast region, Cypress routinely works with joint and interagency partners.

In December 2018, off the coast of Galveston, Texas, Cypress crewmembers helped the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct an open water float test of an Orion return capsule, designed to ensure the capsule would remain upright after splashdown.

“Cypress provided a safe and capable platform for NASA to demonstrate the Crew Module Uprighting System (CMUS) performance in a natural wave environment with a flight-like mockup of the Orion capsule,” said Barbara Janoiko, NASA’s Orion CMUS test lead. Janoiko said the test “will help the Orion Program successfully fly these and future Orion deep space exploration missions and bring the crew home safely. “

According to Tara Radke, the NASA lead for Orion Landing and Recovery Systems, the Cypress-based open water capsule test was the first of its kind in more than four decades since the Apollo program.

“Cypress not only allowed Orion testing in an important mission environment, it also helped develop test procedures and techniques that could be used on future Orion capsule testing,” said Radke. “These tests are very important to the Orion program to ensure the safety of our astronauts.”

Cypress has also partnered with another well-known, high flying organization. In 2004, Cypress participated in a unique salvage operation that helped the buoy tender to form an enduring bond with the Blue Angels, the legendary U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron that performs at air shows across the nation.

During a training flight, a Blue Angels pilot safely ejected and his F/A-18 Hornet went into the Gulf of Mexico. Cypress teamed up with the U.S. Navy’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 to salvage the Hornet. Using its 40,000-pound capacity buoy crane, Cypress hoisted a 38,000-pound F/A-18 off the seafloor.

Today, Cypress participates in the annual Blue Angels air show in their shared homeport of Pensacola.

“Cypress still maintains a strong relationship with the Blue Angels, serving as a center point for aircraft maneuvers during the annual Pensacola Beach Air Show,” said Bonner.

NEWPORT, Rhode Island – Built to guide mariners through safe waters, the Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11 was dangerously adrift in the Long Island Sound.

When ferry operators traveling between Orient Point and Fishers Island, New York, first reported the buoy off station on Jan. 17, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oak (WLB-211) was already underway but foul weather kept the cutter from removing it.

This was the beginning of a two-week saga that would involve several Coast Guard units. Like the Loch Ness monster of the Long Island Sound, the 35-foot-tall green buoy was occasionally seen but hard to catch. It would sink and refloat at different places in the channel.

Oak got underway again on Jan. 22, but while the crew was trying to recover it with a grapnel hook, it sank before their eyes.

On Saturday, Jan. 25, Oak crewmembers were recalled and got underway again to retrieve it. When they arrived on scene, it was nowhere to be found. After two days on station, Oak departed to maintain other buoys in the area. On Jan. 28, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis (WLM-551) responded to another sighting. Ida Lewis crewmembers towed the buoy to shallow water and attached a temporary marker to it.

When Oak hoisted the rogue buoy out of the water on Jan. 29, more than 90 feet of chain was knotted around its concrete sinker. The buoy had drifted almost five miles off station through a congested and narrow waterway.

Oak’s crewmembers removed a hazard to navigation from the Long Island Sound and reclaimed Aids to Navigation hardware worth nearly $100,000. The cutter took the flooded buoy back to Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, for repairs and marked its assigned position with a temporary lighted buoy.

On March 10, Oak reestablished Valiant Rock Lighted Whistle Buoy 11.

“The hazardous Valiant Rock buoy recovery epitomizes how ATON is a team evolution,” said Lt. Cmdr. Gordon A. Hood, the commanding officer of USCGC Oak, adding that the crew of the seagoing buoy tender had exceptional support from several partner units.

In addition to U.S Coast Guard Cutter Ida Lewis, Aids to Navigation Team Long Island Sound, Coast Guard Station New London, Coast Guard Cutter Sycamore (WLB-209), Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) all took part in the operation.

The buoy is just one of 144 Aids to Navigation (ATON) maintained by USCGC Oak, a 225-foot “Black Hull” or ATON cutter.

Seagoing buoy tenders like USCGC Oak and other ATON cutters help to keep the U.S. maritime economy on course by maintaining the U.S. system of buoys and beacons that save lives, protect property and enable commerce.

Across 25,000 miles of American coastal, intracoastal and inland waterways, U.S. Coast Guard cutters and Aids to Navigation Teams maintain more than 48,000 buoys and beacons. U.S. waterways generated more than $5.4 trillion of economic activity in 2018.

Oak services ATON from Buzzards Bay and Nantucket, Massachusetts, to the U.S.-Canadian border.

These Aids to Navigation guide mariners through some of the oldest and busiest ports in the nation, including Boston, Massachusetts; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine.

“Oak’s area of operations can be treacherous throughout the year,” said Ensign Emily E. Torsney, a deck watch officer on USCGC Oak. “Nor’easters are ever changing the rocky New England coastline, continuously shifting shoals, eroding dunes and putting aids in danger of coming off station. With the potential for heavy seas and strong currents, it is imperative that Oak leaves every aid watching properly.”

Heavy fog banks often cover northeast waterways during the summer and fall months and significantly reduce visibility, creating challenging scenarios where the crew often cannot see the Aids to Navigation until the buoy tender is alongside them, said Torsney.

“Our crew braves freezing temperatures, reduced visibility and treacherous waters to leverage each valuable minute of daylight to fulfill our mission,” said Torsney, who is from Scituate, Massachusetts, which is located along the coastline in USCGC Oak’s area of operations.

Oak crewmembers are also often called into action to help other ports to recover from hurricanes.

“With heavy lift capabilities, Oak is prepared each hurricane season and has been frequently called upon for hurricane response throughout the years,” said Torsney. “The most recent response came following Hurricane Florence in 2018, when Oak transited down to the Carolinas to assist with the timely reopening of Fort Macon, N.C.”

Like all U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders, Oak is a multi-mission cutter and has previously conducted other missions to contribute to the safety, security and stewardship of U.S. waterways.

In January, Oak patrolled 80 miles up the Hudson River from New York City to Kingston, New York, in support of Operation Reliable Energy for Northeast Winter (OpRENEW), a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaking operation designed to keep northeast waterways open for the delivery of home heating oil and other energy supplies.

OpRENEW helps to keep northeast residents warm in the winter.

“Of the heating oil used in the country, more than 85 percent is consumed in the northeast and 90 percent of that is delivered via ship or tug and barge,” said Torsney. “Oak’s ice-strengthened hull is capable of breaking 14 inches of ice at three knots continuous speed, which is critical to supporting this mission.”

According to Hood, the cutter keeps the American maritime economy on course through vital northeast waterways.

“Our primary duty to maintain the U.S. Aids to Navigation System along the rugged New England coastline is critically important to both the region and the nation, as we ultimately promote economic security through navigation safety of the Marine Transportation System,” said Hood, a former chief of the U.S. Coast Guard National Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, Virginia.

A native of Manchester, Connecticut, Hood also served two tours on the Kodiak, Alaska-based U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar (WLB-206).

“I am proud of our accomplishments as a crew,” said Hood. “It is a privilege to work alongside a team of shipmates who honor our nautical vocation, as we together strive to excel in readiness, performance, safety and training. Only as a team can we be always ready to answer the call, to execute the mission.”

FORT RILEY, KS – Spring weather in Kansas can be extreme and unpredictable. To help people prepare, Fort Riley’s Emergency Management Office spearheads their Severe Spring Weather Awareness campaign every year following the four main tenants of the Ready Army program: Be Informed, Make a Plan, Build a Kit, and Get Involved.

The fourth in a series of five, this article will cover elements of the third Ready Army tenant, Build a Kit.

Why have a kit?

Severe weather emergencies can often impact entire communities at once. In these situations, emergency responders will likely address the most critical needs first, or may not be able to even get to an area until it is deemed safe.

That’s why building an emergency kit is a critical step in being prepared to face severe weather emergencies: a kit can help you to respond to the emergency for the initial period of time of the event if assistance from emergency responders is unavailable.

“Emergencies or disaster situations bring extreme stress on individuals and families,” said Chris Hallenbeck, Fort Riley Emergency Management coordinator. “Having an emergency preparedness kit will give you and your family peace of mind knowing that you are prepared to handle the initial emergency situation.”

Kits enable you and your family to respond to an emergency more quickly, can be modified to be useful in a wide variety of emergency situations, and can be useful whether you have to evacuate or shelter-in-place.

What goes in a kit?

An emergency kit contains basic items you and your family might need during and/or after a severe weather emergency.

Hallenbeck says a kit should include enough necessary supplies for you and your family to function for at a minimum of 72 hours.

Ready.Army.mil recommends you include – at a minimum – the following basic items in your home emergency kit:

• Water—at least one gallon per person per day for at least three days

• Food—nonperishable food for at least three days, consider items that do not require cooking and will maintain freshness for several months such as energy bars, freeze dried foods and dehydrated foods

• Formula and diapers for any infants

• Food, water, other supplies and documents for any pets

• Manual can opener

• Flashlight

• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) battery-powered weather radio, battery-powered cellphone charger and extra batteries or hand crank powered devices

• First aid kit and prescription medications

• Sanitation supplies such as moist towelettes, disinfectant and garbage bags

• 5-Gallon bucket with plastic bags for use as a portable toilet

• Important documents in watertight packaging—personal, financial and insurance—store copies in a separate location (safety deposit box, relatives, or trusted friend)

• Your family emergency plan, local maps and your command reporting information

• Cash in small denominations

What should you do with your kit?

Once you have compiled your supplies, consider creating multiple emergency kits to keep in different locations such as your home, car, and workplace. Wherever you choose to keep them, emergency kits should be located somewhere convenient and easy to access. Ensure everyone in your family knows where the kits are located.

Consider storing your kits in waterproof containers for safekeeping and be sure to rotate your items periodically, ensuring nothing is expired when the need comes.

Do your part to keep your family safe and prepare for severe spring weather by building a kit. After all, emergency preparedness is everyone’s responsibility.

“Every member of our community has a role in community preparedness,” said Hallenbeck. “When individuals are prepared for emergencies they are helping to strengthen our community. This also develops a more resilient community, which overall contributes to mission readiness and mission assurance for the installation.”

When it comes to severe spring weather, building a kit might mean the difference between life and death for you or your loved ones. Ensure your family is informed on potential dangers by visiting https://home.army.mil/riley/index.php/about/dir-staff/DPTMS/ready-army for more information and by following the four Ready Army tenants for preparedness.

Next week’s article, Get Involved, Part 5, will discuss how you can get involved in your community to increase everyone’s preparedness in the event of severe weather emergencies.

FORT LEE, Va. – Hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, typhoons and other storms often occur with little time to prepare for the devastating disruption of normalcy.

Service members and their families can plan for that disruption by using their commissary benefit to purchase emergency supplies, said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Tomeka N. O’Neal, the Defense Commissary Agency’s senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director.

“When the storm comes and all of a sudden you have no electricity, or you cannot get to the grocery store, which may also be closed – what’s your plan?” O’Neal said. “Before a bad day gets even worse, think ahead and save money as you use your commissary to help prepare for that emergency event.”

During last year’s hurricane season, there were 18 named storms with six becoming hurricanes and three classified as major hurricanes such as Hurricane Dorian that was classified as a Category 5. According to the NOAA, there were about 1,500 tornadoes in the United States last year, making 2019 one of the most active tornado seasons on record.

From April through Oct. 31, DeCA’s severe weather promotional package includes discounts on the following items: beef jerky and other assorted meat snacks, soup and chili mixes, canned goods, powdered milk, cereals, batteries, airtight bags, weather-ready flashlights, tape (all-weather, heavy-duty shipping and duct), first aid kits, lighters, matches, lanterns, candles, hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipes. Specific items may vary from store to store.

The North Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 to Nov. 30 and covers the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Tornado season is April to July.

Each year Colorado State University presents its predictions for the hurricane season. The forecast for 2020 calls for 16 named storms, eight of which will be hurricanes, with four of the hurricanes potentially being category 3 or higher. Accuweather predicts 14 to 20 tropical storms, with the number of storms becoming hurricanes ranging from seven to 11.

The spring tornado forecast, according to ustornadoes.com, is calling for an above average season.

Whether it’s Mother Nature or a manmade crisis, emergency preparedness officials encourage prior planning with a disaster supply kit that includes the following items:

• Water – at least one gallon daily, per person (three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home)

• Nonperishable foods – canned meats, fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, raisins, cereal, crackers, cookies, energy bars, granola, peanut butter, and foods for infants and the elderly (three-day supply for evacuation, two-week supply for home)

• Paper goods – writing paper, paper plates, paper towels and toilet paper

• Writing utensils – pens, pencils (manual pencil sharpeners), markers

• Cooking items – pots, pans, baking sheets, cooking utensils, charcoal, a grill and a manual can opener

• First-aid kit – including bandages, medicines and prescription medications

• Cleaning materials – bleach, sanitizing spray, and hand and laundry soap

• Toiletries – personal hygiene items and moist wipes

• Pet care items – food, water, muzzle, leash, carrier, medications, medical records, and identification and immunization tags

• Lighting accessories – flashlights, batteries, candles and matches

• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)

• Duct tape, scissors

• Multipurpose tool

• Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates and insurance policies)

• Cell phone with chargers

• Family and emergency contact information

• Extra cash

• Emergency blanket

• Maps of the area

• Blankets or sleeping bags

“Throughout the year we advise our customers to be ready for any emergency, natural or manmade,” O’Neal said. “Even with the COVID-19 outbreak, we still want our customers to be prepared. However, regardless of the situation, we recommend that they calmly purchase what they need and avoid any panic buying to ensure products are available for others in their communities.”

For more information about disaster preparedness, go to the DeCA website (https://commissaries.com/our-agency/disaster-preparedness) for lists of resources.

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.