A meteorologist turns a terrifying encounter into a research project.
Josh Wadler, now an assistant professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, had a bumpy ride aboard the Hurricane Hunters mission to Hurricane Ian in September 2022.
Read: A new era of hurricane tracking begins
Others on board said it was the bumpiest hurricane flight they had ever been on. Wadler set out to test whether this could be quantified to be true.
Over the next few months, he collected data from Hurricane Hunter flights dating back to 2004 and developed a turbulence index to measure the human experience on the plane, as he described it. The resulting daunting mathematical puzzles and lengthy equations differ from traditional turbulence algorithms designed to measure the state of the atmosphere.
Although turbulence comes in different forms – from top to bottom to side to side – no matter how he slices it, the turbulence Hunter encountered in Hurricane Ian was the highest on such flights in at least 20 years, and by a wide margin – more than in 2017 in May. The second bumpiest flight recorded during Category 1 Hurricane Irma was more than 34% higher.
As Wadler describes, moments of fear during episodes of extreme turbulence can impact the brain's ability to make quick decisions, which is critical for scientists transmitting critical data or pilots reacting to extreme speeds or sudden altitude changes. A particularly important consideration. Although Wadler's turbulence research is still in its early stages, he hopes to collaborate with human factors scientists and behavioral researchers to better understand how turbulence in the air affects cognitive function and decision-making. This index also translates easily to commercial flights.
For the crew of the last Hurricane Ian research mission, Wadler's research was the exclamation mark on an unconventional mission. The pursuit of science is messy, but for the team of scientists collectively known as the Hurricane Hunters, leaving the storm—finally closing a long and storied chapter in routine and dangerous human reconnaissance missions—means enduring the same Unpredictable and often turbulent winds had brought them there in the first place.
We help millions of people understand climate change and what to do about it. Help us reach more people like you.
