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Prepare, provide, protect,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Kehoe, 26th OWS
commander. “We prepare our Airmen to go anywhere in the world and
support Air Force and Army operations, which are thirty-hour
airfield forecasts, as well as weather watches, warnings, and
advisories, and we protect people and military assets in our AOR.”
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September 7, 2017 - A 26th Operations Weather Squadron forecaster
tracks Hurricane Irma at Barksdale Air Force Base, LA. Even though
they are stationed on Barksdale, the 26th OWS keeps track of the
weather for 13 states and 151 military sites in the Southeast region
of the U.S. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Stuart Bright)
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Their AOR contains the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South
Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri.
That includes not only a geographical hurricane area, but
parts of Tornado Alley as well, along with winterstorms in
the Midwest. While the 26th OWS only write forecasts for the
Southeast, they also keep watch on weather happenings in
Central America and the Caribbean so they can monitor
developments.
While the squadron sends weather forecasts and warnings to all
required military instillations in the Southeast, they can also
provide specialized weather briefs and can brief an instillation
commander when high threat situations, such as hurricanes, are
expected to occur.
“We give our recommendations and weather forecasts to each base,
and then it’s the discretion of the installation commander on what
to do,” said Master Sgt. Michael Norris, 26th OWS NCO In Charge of
theater weather operations. “We give them the intel, they make the
decision.”
During the past couple of months there have been four hurricanes
in the Southern U.S., which included Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria
and Nate. Even though the squadron is located on Barksdale, they
tracked all four of the storms and sent threat assessments to the
military installations in the storm’s path. The 26th OWS coordinates
with the National Hurricane Center to make sure their information is
accurate and up to date.
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September 7, 2017 - Two 26th Operations Weather Squadron forecasters
keep track of the weather radar at Barksdale Air Force Base, LA. The
operations floor is surrounded by weather radars that cover the
entire Southeast region of the U.S. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman
1st Class Stuart Bright)
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“Weather is not a set thing, so things happen when you
aren’t expecting it to,” said Senior Airman Ashley Morrison,
26th OWS flight weather briefer. “Hurricane Harvey was in
the Yucatan when it disappeared and we thought we were done
with it. Later, all of a sudden it started and we didn’t
think it was going to be as bad as it was. Then two days
before it hit the Texas coast we realized it was going to be
a bad one.”
With an entire region under their watch, the squadron garner the
responsibility of providing timely and accurate weather information
to insure military assets and personnel are safe from harmful
weather.
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Stuart Bright
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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