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The National Hurricane Center dispatched its Gulfstream IV-SP “hurricane hunter” aircraft into the Atlantic this afternoon to collect data on Hurricane Dorian as it works its way toward Florida’s coast.
The team aboard the Gulfstream is made up of Capt. Kristie Twining, Cmdr. Rebecca Waddington, and Lt. Lindsey Norman who made National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) history Aug. 5, 2018, as the first all-female crew to pilot an aircraft during a hurricane mission. The mission was for Hurricane Hector near Hawaii. The three women dropped atmospheric monitoring devices called dropsondes to collect temperature, pressure, wind speed, wind direction and humidity data–all crucial to creating NOAA’s hurricane forecasts, NOAA reported.
All three women were interviewed by NOAA for a story on their careers in February. In it, Waddington discussed what it’s like being a woman in aviation and uniformed service:
“Unfortunately, women remain a minority in aviation, uniformed services, and most STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] fields for that matter. I often get asked if I am the photographer or scientist in the plane and people are surprised when I tell them I am the pilot. I think women naturally have a different leadership and thinking style than their male peers and that brings different perspectives to everyday tasks.”
Check out the route Waddington and the crew took on their Dorian mission Thursday here.
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