November 15, 2005 — The worst hurricane season on record has brought out the best in NOAA employees across all six NOAA line offices. Most people associate NOAA and hurricanes with the NOAA National Weather Service’s hurricane forecasts and advisories, but many other NOAA offices and activities help serve the nation during hurricane season — before, during and even long after these highly destructive storms have passed.

“The sense of a ‘One NOAA’ organization has never been more apparent. NOAA employees reached across organizational boundaries to help the nation, and their fellow NOAA cohorts, survive and recover from the 2005 hurricane season,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Wherever possible, NOAA resources were pooled to better leverage the agency's response capabilities.”

NOAA BEFORE AND DURING A HURRICANE
Even before a hurricane hits land, NOAA employees are preparing for its effects, especially those in the NOAA National Weather Service, NOAA Aircraft Operations Center and NOAA National Ocean Service.

NOAA National Weather Service Provides Hurricane Forecasts and Advisories
The NOAA National Weather Service monitors tropical weather conditions for hurricane development, tracks storms from their infancy as tropical depressions to full blown hurricanes, and provides intensity and track forecasts. Advances in hurricane research, satellite technology and computer modeling, coupled with continuous data from NOAA and U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft, also aid NOAA National Hurricane Center forecasters in producing accurate track and intensity forecasts that help save countless lives.

For example, hurricane data (e.g., dropwindsondes data) gathered by the NOAA WP-3D Orion hurricane hunters and Gulfstream IV high-altitude surveillance jet — flown by crews from the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in support of the NOAA National Hurricane Center and NOAA Hurricane Research Division — helped the NOAA National Hurricane Center to first catch Katrina's turn toward the southwest as the storm reached hurricane strength just before its South Florida landfall (The NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's hurricane model — one of several used by the National Hurricane Center — correctly predicted the southwest turn of Katrina toward the Miami area, prior to its first landfall.).

As the NOAA National Hurricane Center issues text and graphic-based advisories on hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions, local NOAA National Weather Service offices produce forecasts at the city and county level, including issuing watches, warnings and advisories. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., monitors the potential for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms with storms that near the coast or move inland. Also, the NOAA Hydrometeorological Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md., will track the remnants of decaying tropical systems as they bring rain inland.

In addition to his other responsibilities as Director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, leads outreach efforts to the public and emergency management communities with support from the center’s hurricane experts and a special team of meteorologists assembled from across NOAA. “The most accurate forecasts are only beneficial when people react by taking the necessary steps to save their lives and property,” Mayfield said. “Preparedness remains essential. Knowing the risks, knowing ahead of time where to go and what to bring if evacuating, and heeding orders from local officials empowers individuals, businesses and communities.”

Mayfield also took the initiative to call the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi and the New Orleans mayor to brief them about the severity of Hurricane Katrina.

The NOAA Satellite and Information Service also assists with NOAA hurricane activities. For example, GOES satellites provided a total of 716 images of Hurricane Katrina from August 26, 2005 to August 30, 2005 (once every five minutes.) These images were invaluable to hurricane forecasters tracking to storm on the ground. Hurricane Katrina also marked the first time that real-time GOES data was available onboard a NOAA WP-3D aircraft.

A Busy Season for NOAA Hurricane Research
As the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season comes to a close, NOAA's cadre of hurricane researchers at the NOAA Hurricane Research Division’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory are wrapping up an extremely busy and important research season. NOAA hurricane researchers regularly fly aboard NOAA's WP-3D and Gulfstream-IV aircraft to gather information and test instrumentation that lead to better understanding of hurricane structure and mechanics, as well as improved hurricane track and intensity forecasts.

This year's main experiment — the Intensity Forecasting Experiment (also known as IFEX) — included a series of observations into eleven named tropical storms and hurricanes with a total of 81 flights onboard NOAA hurricane aircraft. The IFEX data collected will aid in uncovering the specific conditions conducive to storm development and help in the evaluation of operational numerical models.

NOAA researchers learned something new with each hurricane mission (Click on NOAA image to the right for a larger view of the 2005 Atlantic Storm Tracks. Please credit "NOAA."):

• Data collected from Hurricane Irene as part of the Saharan Air Layer experiment will be used to improve model forecasts of hurricane intensity change.
• Data from NOAA researcher’s seven aircraft missions from Katrina's south Florida landfall to the Louisiana landfall, were transmitted in real-time to the NOAA National Hurricane Center and the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction for use in preparing hurricane warnings and initializing hurricane models. These flights also marked the first delivery of analysis products of hurricane structure using Doppler radar.
• NOAA also worked with the National Science Foundation-sponsored Rainband Experiment (also known as RAINEX) Navy-P3 to address joint research objectives in Katrina during two of the missions in the Gulf of Mexico.
• NOAA’s first Aerosonde flight into an Atlantic storm took place on Sept. 16 as Tropical Storm Ophelia moved off the East Coast of the United States. This unique experiment tested the use of small unmanned aircraft at low altitudes within the hurricane environment.
• By deploying a series of airborne ocean probes, NOAA researchers found that the Gulf’s deep warm water loop current and its associated eddies played a role in providing a suitable environment for both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which both grew to category five status while in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Just up the east coast in Princeton, N.J., NOAA's hurricane computer modelers at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory were also keeping a watch on the storms. The GFDL model is one of several used by the NOAA National Hurricane Center. This year, the GFDL model provided very reliable track guidance throughout the season. GFDL's model also provided improved skill in intensity forecasting, which was especially valuable during Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Pre-positioning NOAA Assets and Personnel for Speedy Post-storm Response
NOAA puts into place hurricane mitigation measures well before a hurricane strikes land. Before hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and Wilma hit the U.S. mainland, the NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA National Ocean Service teamed up to pre-position NOAA assets and personnel in preparation for a speedy post-storm response mission. Days before Hurricane Katrina hit, NOAA deployed four Navigation Response Teams and Scientific Support Coordinators to the region and began preparations to move ships into the Gulf. NOAA quickly outfitted coastal research ship Nancy Foster with sonar equipment to scan the seafloor for dangerous obstructions in port areas, and dispatched its hydrographic survey ship Thomas Jefferson (and a contract survey ship) to the Gulf to help reopen ports and busy shipping channels to navigation after the storm passed.

NOAA AFTER THE HURRICANE
Much of NOAA’s work takes place long after a hurricane passes. This work involves a wide array of NOAA offices and is staged from both the air and water. NOAA ships, planes and many experts help assess hurricane damage, activate post-hurricane response and restoration efforts and help re-establish open ports and safe navigation. The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service also helps with post-hurricane fisheries issues.

NOAA Post-Hurricane Activities in the Air
NOAA’s post-hurricane activities in the air were dominated by the NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations and NOAA Ocean Service, focusing on the collection and use of aerial images to assess post-hurricane conditions.

NOAA National Geodetic Survey Collects Post-storm Aerial Images
Days after Hurricanes, Katrina, Rita and Wilma made landfall, personnel from the NOAA National Geodetic Survey's Remote Sensing Division were in the air flying NOAA’s Citation jet to collect aerial images of the areas hardest hit by these storms. In total, more than 12,000 aerial images were posted on the NOAA Web site this hurricane season, resulting in a daily download of nearly 4.5 million photos for nearly three weeks — the greatest number of Web downloads in NOAA history. With the aid of a Google geographic software interface, the images helped emergency managers plan recovery strategies and enabled residents to see if their homes were still standing. These images also will be useful in long-term restoration and research efforts. Among those using the images are coastal zone managers, HAZMAT responders, habitat restoration scientists and those guiding the levee rebuilding projects.

A NOAA WP-3D also conducted post-Katrina damage assessment flights at 1,000 feet. The assessments are used by NOAA National Hurricane Center to compare actual damages with hurricane forecasts to help determine forecast accuracy.

NOAA biologists even used NOAA aircraft to look for stranded and/or injured marine mammals and other sea creatures, and to assess the damage to wetlands.

Two NOAA Offices Used the Post-hurricane Aerial Images to Assist with Other NOAA Missions

• The NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Hazardous Materials Division, in collaboration with other scientific support coordinators, damage assessment specialists, scientists and information management specialists, used the NOAA National Geodetic Survey’s aerial surveys (along with NOAA and NASA satellite images) to make customized maps for use by the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies. Because of the massive destruction resulting from hurricanes, the only way to figure out what’s going on is to create new maps, constantly updating them with new information. The maps were first used to perform search and rescue missions, but later focused on pollution response efforts.

  Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, for example, the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration used the overflight information while working with the U.S. Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, local governments and industry representatives to identify, assess, prioritize and mitigate more than 1,000 reported releases of hazardous materials along the coastal waters of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Using modeling and trajectory analyses, NOAA was able to figure out where the oil was going, where it would stop and how long it would take to get there. NOAA also systematically reviewed petroleum facilities and other areas where leaks may have occurred, including the assessment and monitoring of more than 400 sunken or grounded vessels. "In terms of overall impact, this hurricane season has created the largest incidents NOAA has ever responded to," said David Kennedy, director of the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. "Our staff will be part of a long-term clean-up commitment by NOAA to the region."

  Once spills are identified, prioritized and clean-up begins, NOAA's second response component begins as the NOAA Office of Response and Restoration’s Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program, steps in. Created after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the program provides NOAA expertise to assess and restore natural resources damaged by oil and hazardous substance releases — as well as physical impacts, such as ship groundings.

• The NOAA Coastal Services Center also used the NOAA National Geodetic Survey’s aerial images, along with other images that NOAA collected, to create maps to help officials understand the effects of the 2005 hurricane season. These maps document how the landscape reacted and changed in response to the flooding and strong winds. The maps were used immediately after the storm by response officials interested in knowing the number of critical facilities impacted by the storms and the demographics surrounding these facilities, and by officials needing a large scale view of the impacted areas and the debris accumulations. This information is also proving to be helpful as the rebuilding process begins. The NOAA Coastal Services Center also provided a look at the economic impacts of Hurricane Katrina. A review of data collected as part of the NOAA sponsored National Ocean Economics Program showed that almost half the jobs and more that half the economic output of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama came from the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina.

NOAA Post-Hurricane Activities in the Water
NOAA post-hurricane activities in the water were dominated by three NOAA offices — the NOAA Ocean Service, NOAA Fisheries Service and NOAA Research — who worked together to conduct water quality and seafood safety assessments. The NOAA Ocean Service and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations also work to reestablish open ports and safe navigation following the hurricanes, while NOAA Fisheries Service focuses on post-hurricane fisheries issues.

Three NOAA Offices Work Together on Water Quality and Fisheries Assessments in Hurricane Impacted Areas
Following Hurricanes Katrina (and later Rita), personnel from the NOAA Ocean Service, NOAA Fisheries Service and NOAA Research immediately began organizing studies to determine the storm’s impact on the environment and the valuable commercial fisheries in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

To begin the post-hurricane Katrina (and later Rita) environmental assessments, the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster was first deployed into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Water, sediment and marine species were tested for pesticides, petroleum-based compounds and pathogens that may have entered into the food chain from the waters being pumped out of New Orleans. Water samples also were analyzed for general environmental parameters, including dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, nutrients and plankton.

NOAA also sampled in coastal state waters for sediment, shellfish and water quality changes. These tests are part of the ongoing NOAA National Status and Trends Program's Mussel Watch Contaminant Monitoring Project that provides a 20 year record of more than 120 contaminants in more than 300 sites nationwide, including 20 in the impacted area of the Gulf coast.

NOAA analyses of samples collected thus far have found no evidence of toxins (i.e., hydrocarbons or other compounds) or pathogens (bacteria) that would harm people. NOAA’s sampling and analyses will continue over the next several months, and NOAA will release study findings as they become available.

The NOAA Fisheries Service is also working with the states to assess damage to the 15 major fishing ports and the 177 seafood-processing facilities in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. "Our goals, and those of the fisheries directors of the affected states, are to determine the effects of the hurricane on the area's fish and shellfish, as well as the long-term impacts these might have on the commercial fishing industry," said William Hogarth, director of the NOAA Fisheries Service. "We also will be taking a look at the effects of Hurricane Katrina (and Rita) on inventories of fish processors, dealers and individual fishing related businesses."

NOAA Ocean Service and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations Help Ensure Safe Navigation and Reopen Ports Following Major Hurricanes
NOAA also assists in reopening ports and restoring safe navigation to areas impacted by major hurricanes. Hurricanes can play havoc with the sea bottom, rendering the depths and obstructions on nautical charts obsolete. Waterways must be surveyed and cleared before oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels can safely transit the area.

The NOAA Ocean Service's Office of Coast Survey, in conjunction with NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, undertook a monumental interagency coordination effort to reestablish open ports/waterways and safe navigation as quickly as possible after Katrina passed, and did encore performances after Ophelia, Rita and Wilma.

Following Hurricane Katrina, for example, four of the six NOAA Navigational Response Teams were dispatched to the storm-ravaged region. NRTs, which are mobile emergency response units, use small survey launches equipped with side scan sonar to survey shallow waterways for underwater hazards. In much deeper water, NOAA and contract hydrographic survey ships use both multi-beam and side scan sonar to survey much broader areas. Following Hurricane Katrina, both the NOAA hydrographic survey ship Thomas Jefferson and the NOAA research ship Nancy Foster — temporarily outfitted with multi-beam and side-scan sonar — were sent to the Gulf region. When sonar detects an obstruction on the sea bottom, divers determine what it is and its depth. "Our teams worked around the clock to help restore safe navigation channels," said Captain Roger Parsons, director of the NOAA Office of Coast Survey.

NOAA reports navigational obstructions and other hazards to the U.S. Coast Guard, which has authority to open and close waterways, mark ship channels and issue daily reports on nautical charts changes. The Army Corps of Engineers, which dredges the Mississippi River and port areas to maintain safe depths, removes the obstructions NOAA finds. The U.S. Navy deploys salvage ships and divers to the area to help remove wrecks and check out obstructions in extremely polluted waters. The efforts are typically orchestrated through daily conference calls among agency representatives.

NOAA Fisheries Service Comes to the Aid of Marine Animals Following Major Hurricanes
NOAA even comes to the aid of stranded/injured marine mammals and other sea creatures following major hurricanes. Following Hurricane Katrina, NOAA assisted in coordinating the rescue of eight trained bottlenose dolphins. NOAA Fisheries Service worked with the Marine Life Aquarium of Gulfport, Miss., and other partners to save the dolphins which were swept out of an aquarium tank torn apart by Katrina’s storm surge. Although the dolphins had little or no experience surviving in the wild and endured some injuries, all eight dolphins stayed together and were eventually rescued by NOAA’s marine mammal biologists and aquarium trainers.

NOAA also assisted in rescuing stranded wild dolphins throughout the hurricane regions, including a bottle nose dolphin that was found swimming in a ditch in Cameron, La. — apparently it had washed ashore in storm surge from Hurricane Rita, and a dolphin that was trapped in a shallow pond on a golf course.

NOAA Office for Law Enforcement Activities Following Major Hurricanes
NOAA even provides law enforcement services following major hurricanes. Following Hurricane Katrina for example, the State of Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Enforcement Division requested that the NOAA Office for Law Enforcement provide agents to assist them with security and safety matters involving marine rescues. The agents NOAA sent had a combined experience level of 90 years in law enforcement; experience which they applied to tackle the various tasks associated with the operations they encountered, including protective duties, first aid, search & rescue and humanitarian relief.

Special Agent-in-Charge Hal Robbins, OLE - Southeast Division, commended the work of the agents as they pulled together to provide support to the storm-ravaged area, "These agents were responsive to the needs of those impacted by Hurricane Katrina. They provided security to NOAA facilities and assisted in the search for Department of Commerce employees who were unaccounted for."

NOAA Ships, Facilities and Employees Impacted by the 2005 Hurricane Season
Remarkably, the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, based in hard-hit Pascagoula, Miss., sustained little damage during Hurricane Katrina and was able to provide e-mail and satellite phone services for area U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard personnel following the storm. In the heart of the storm-ravaged area, the ship even acted as a shelter for many of NOAA’s now homeless personnel and served as a staging ground for other relief efforts.

NOAA staff and facilities fell victim to the major hurricanes this year. Ironically, the eye walls of hurricanes Katrina and Wilma passed over the NOAA National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. — luckily only causing minor damage.

NOAA facilities in other parts of the country, however, did not fare so well. In bracing for hurricanes Katrina’s wrath, NOAA facilities in the central Gulf Coast region were evacuated or activated continuity plans to minimize service interruptions as the hurricane hit. This was the case for Slidell, La., Meteorologist-In-Charge Paul Trotter, Hydrologist-In-Charge Dave Reed and their teams as they continued to keep the nation appraised of Katrina’s status — even as the hurricane's eye passed over their offices. On generator power and without communications, NOAA National Weather Service staff in Slidell scrambled for buckets to keep water from pouring into their facilities. Throughout the storm, the weather service forecast office also served as refuge for most NOAA staff and their families — many of whom lost their homes in Katrina’s 140 mile per hour winds.

In Pascagoula, Miss., NOAA ship Oregon II was rendered unseaworthy after Hurricane Katrina punched a hole into its hull. The nearby NOAA port office — where the ship was berthed — was also demolished, along with much of the fisheries laboratory it was housed with. Several ship crew members and local NOAA Fisheries personnel lost their homes, but still returned to work on the ships and at the lab, determined to help in the recovery. NOAA Corps officers and civilian wage marine crew reached out into the devastated community to offer relief assistance and supplies, despite their many personal losses.

One NOAA
It is easy to see the extent and depth of NOAA’s activities this hurricane season. Many NOAA offices worked together and in partnership with other organizations before, during and even long after major hurricanes has passed.

The names and actions of NOAA individuals and offices involved in hurricane activities are far too many to mention. Some responded by reaching out to others with generous acts of kindness; others turbo-charged their jobs by working impossible hours in miserable conditions. Some stood watch at the Department of Homeland Security’s Operations Center or the NOAA Homeland Security Office’s Incident Coordination Center, or worked tirelessly at their desks in the field and at headquarters to coordinate the massive efforts underway. Whatever role they played, together they acted as "One NOAA."

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA's damage assessment and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (NOAA Fishesries Service)

Hurricane Damage at NOAA's Pascagoula Facility (NOAA Fisheries Services)

Hurricane Katrina Storm Tide Quick Look (NOAA/NOS Co-ops)

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration Responds to Hurricane Katrina (NOS)

Hurricane Katrina - Emergency Hydrographic Response - September 23, 2005 (NOS)

NOAA G-IV Flies Day and Night Missions in Hurricane Katrina (NOAA AOC)

NOAA G-IV Jet Begins SALEX Research (NOAA AOC)

NOS Katrina and Rita Recovery Efforts in the Gulf Coast Region

Media Contact:
Scott Smullen, NOAA, (202) 482-6090