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Weather For Iraq War
Fri May 09, 2003
Listen in RealAudio 
As the U.S. campaign against Iraq continues, soldiers need up-to-date, accurate weather
forecasts for every mission they undertake. Their information will come from a sophisticated
weather prediction system developed after the first Persian Gulf War.
Leda Hartman visited the South Carolina air force base responsible for these
forecasts.
Shaw Air Force Base is the headquarters of the 28th operational weather squadron. It is
responsible for forecasting the weather for the U. S. Air Force Central Command ... or CENTAF
... the region that includes Iraq. Major Ron Asbury says the weather affects every aspect of a
military operation.
RA: Like the ground troops are concerned about dust storms, visibility, high temperatures,
things like that, the air crews would be concerned about turbulence, clouds, can they see the
target.
The military gets its weather information in much the same way as most television stations.
But the military also has access to more sensitive satellites and radar stations, as well as
pilot reports, so its forecasts are more up-to-date than the standard commercial ones.
The military forecasts that come from the weather squadron at Shaw are sent to combat weather
teams on the ground in Iraq. The combat weathermen have mobile kits that measure everything
from barometric pressure to moonlight, and they can refine the forecasts further. Major Asbury
says military forecasts have come a long way since the first gulf war 12 years ago.
RA: As before, it was a lot of single-station forecasting, where you would look up and ...
okay, this is what it looks like now, this is what I think is gonna happen. Now we have a
bigger picture of the area and a lot more accurate forecasting.
For The Weather Notebook, I'm Leda Hartman at Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, S.C.
The Weather Notebook is generously supported by The National Science Foundation and Subaru of
America.
Today's Links
Shaw Air Force Base Public Website
http://www.shaw.af.mil/default.htm
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