by Andrew Chung/ KVUE News
kvue.com
Posted on November 25, 2010 at 9:49 PM
Updated
Thursday, Nov 25 at 10:34 PM
Throughout history, U.S. troops on the battlefield have relied on accurate forecasts by military meteorologists.
On D-Day, Allied troops needed fair weather for the invasion of Normandy. Military forecasters today continue the proud tradition of their predecessors.
Master Sergeant Joshua Stowers is a weather officer with the Texas Air National Guard, stationed at Camp Mabry. He’s a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and he's ready to deploy for battle on a moment's notice.
"We're considered by the Air Force as 'enablers', which basically means we're ready to go at any time. So we stay current in all our different aspects of training. And we're ready to go whenever the call comes, whether it be federal response or state response for hurricane or any other civil emergency," said Stowers.
One of the tools military forecasters use is a mobile weather station, which resembles a camera tripod but is larger. It measures temperature, wind speed and direction, cloud height and precipitation.
"This tactical weather station is the same piece of equipment used by our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. It's a crucial piece of equipment that helps our troops in the heat of battle," explained Stowers.
The D-Day invasion reveals how weather can determine the course of history.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted Allied forces to storm the beaches of Normandy on June 5, 1944. But he needed a low tide at dawn, light winds, and minimal cloud cover. That meant tremendous pressure for military forecasters.
Because of bad weather on June 5, Eisenhower delayed the invasion by a day, when forecasters predicted improving conditions.
The Allied invasion was successful, with weather playing a pivotal role.
A missed forecast can have deadly consequences. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter ordered a rescue operation to free 52 American hostages held in Iran.
U.S. helicopters ran into an unexpected sandstorm. The mission was subsequently aborted. One of the rescue helicopters collided with a U.S. plane as it returned to base, killing 8 servicemen.
Both D-Day and the Iranian rescue mission provide lessons for military forecasters, who must take into account the rough terrain of Afghanistan when providing weather support for U.S. troops.
"In those mountain passes, especially after rainstorms, we get a lot of fog, and that's one of the big things that we have to look at," said Stowers. "It's hard for us to get weather sensors into a remote area so we have to use satellite information. We have to use what we call pilot reports - basically, pilots are actually flying there and we're getting the information feedback from them."
Military commanders don't always hope for good weather.
"There are some things that may hinder enemy operations which may be a good thing for our friendly forces. So there may be times where our commander asks us, 'Hey, I'm looking for this type of situation. Are we going to see that in the next 72 to 96 hours?' So we can kinda give him an idea," explained Stowers.
