With several aircraft already planning to swarm around hurricanes this year, yet another one will be dispatched to help scientists solve a large mystery: Why do some clusters of thunderstorms grow into hurricanes while many others dissipate?The results could help the National Hurricane Center extend its long-range forecasts from five to seven days. So says the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a non-profit research center based in Boulder, Colo. “There are clusters of thunderstorms every day in the tropics, but we don’t know why some of them develop into hurricanes while others don’t,” Christopher Davis, one of the lead NCAR scientists, said.
Under a project called PREDICT, NCAR plans to deploy a Gulfstream G-V high-altitude jet from St. Croix in the Virgin Islands when storms pop up during the height of the hurricane season. The PREDICT plane will join others on a similar mission.
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