Historically, only a handful of reliable wind speed measurements have been collected for any individual landfalling hurricane. Most anemometers and recording systems fail at even slightly elevated wind speeds and are rendered useless when power fails.
Texas Tech has designed and built a fleet of mobile observation platforms that can be quickly deployed in the path of an approaching hurricane. AIR's funding will enable Texas Tech to increase the number of platforms it can deploy for each storm. These platforms come with their own power source and are fortified to withstand wind speeds of 240 kmp (150 miles per hour), virtually guaranteeing reliable data acquisition.
Each mobile platform is capable of recording a complete, high resolution, wind speed time history. Coupled with data on the characteristics of the surrounding terrain, the platforms will provide a more accurate picture of the structure of hurricane wind fields.
