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An Air Force C-130 “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft at San Diego’s Brown Field earlier this month. Photo by Erik Jepsen, UC San Diego Publications.

Scientists at Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) are leading a field effort with the National Weather Service to utilize two “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft for a month starting Jan. 25. They hope that during that time period, atmospheric rivers will set up over the Pacific Ocean at least a few times. The planes will be stationed in Hawaii and either Washington state or California, and if the conditions are right, fly through atmospheric rivers, dropping instrument-laden, parachute-tethered dropsondes across the width of the storms and to collect data.

Read the full story at http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/hunting-atmospheric-rivers.