Texas Tech’s National Wind Institute Predicts Active Hurricane Season
Get ready for an active Hurricane season in 2022, that is the prediction according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with the National Wind Institute. Both cite La Nina and temperatures in their predictions of an active Hurricane Center.
According to a press release from Texas Tech University, NOAA is predicting 14-21 named storms with 6-10 of those becoming hurricanes and 3 to 6 of those Hurricanes developing into major hurricanes.
The 2022 Hurricane Season began on Wednesday, June 1st and runs until November 30th. The Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team and the Texas Tech National Wind Institute is vital in making readings and further studying these storms.
One of the tools of the trade for the Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team at the NWI is the meteorological observing station, StickNet. These field probes are considered versatile and used in a variety of field studies. The fleet, which originated with two prototypes in 2005, now features 48 stations built to be deployed within a matter of minutes to study diverse weather phenomena such as drylines, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
“The Hurricane Research Team will deploy our 48 StickNet portable weather stations to any hurricane that threatens the Texas Coast, as well as any major hurricane that impacts the U.S. coastline,” said Hirth. “We also may look to deploy our two Ka-band mobile research radars for which can provide detailed ‘maps’ of features in the hurricane wind field with very high resolution.”
Hirth said the department will continue a diligent and in-depth approach to 2022 hurricane season which included some advice for those traveling to or living in the coastal parts of the state of Texas.
The National Wind Institute's scientists and engineer's have been able to gather data on wind which has helped to develop the Enhanced Fujita Scale. The National Wind Institute also is home to one of the largest tornado simulators in the world.