Texas Tech Hurricane Research Team readies wind probes for next season

Texas Tech University’s Hurricane Research Team is preparing for the next hurricane season and upgrading equipment  in the wake of 2012’s historic season, according to a university press release.

Team members are upgrading probes used to monitor wind speed during hurricane events. Once deployed, these probes provide real time data to the research team via cellular communication.

This season, researchers planted their wind probes along the East Coast to monitor wind forces from Hurricane Sandy.  The storm made history as the largest Atlantic Hurricane recorded, with a diameter of 1,100 miles.

The team recorded wind speeds up to 75 miles per hour during Sandy. One probe was damaged during deployment, causing a loss in data transmission.

Image: A wind probe deployed for Hurricane Ike in 2009 by the Hurricane Research Team (Credit: Tanya Brown/Hurricane Research Team)