Next gen tech to give forecasters unprecedented information

By DINA ARÉVALO
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com

On Nov. 19, 2016, the GOES-R satellite was launched into orbit via an Atlas V rocket. The launch marked the first of four such weather satellites which will ultimately circle the globe by 2024 giving scientists and weather forecasters an unprecedented amount of information about the planet’s weather.

Such was the information shared during presentations on next generation technology at the National Tropical Weather Conference held on South Padre Island last week. The conference, which celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, is sponsored by the Urban Science Initiative, said Tim Smith, a longtime broadcast meteorologist at the Rio Grande Valley’s ABC affiliate, KRGV.

Big weather news breaks at the conference every year, Smith said, not just updates on the latest satellite advancements. In fact, one of the biggest headlines to come out of the conference was the 2017 hurricane forecast. Dr. Philip Klotzbatch, of Colorado State University, and his hurricane forecast was one of the centerpieces of the conference. He predicts this season will spawn 11 named storms, including four hurricanes, with two becoming major hurricanes.

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