Combat weather Airmen beat the deep freeze

  • Published
  • By Capt. Faith Brodkorb
  • 93d Air Ground Operations Wing Public Affairs

When the weather takes a turn for the worse, everyone looks to forecasters and meteorologists to know how to respond to Mother Nature. Their guidance helps everyone else navigate harsh weather.

Airmen from the 3d Combat Weather Squadron at Fort Hood, Texas provided Central Texas with important forecasts and advisories through a winter storm that hit the area February 11-18, 2021.

The 3d CWS maintained 24-hour operations to protect the installation and its community despite dangerous road conditions and interruptions to water and power utilities.

Despite knowing about the winter storm in advance, forecasters did not know 20,000 people in their area would be without power at some point during the storm.

“We had to stay open. The airfield was technically closed, but our tower was open. So we needed to make sure we were in-office providing [installation commanders] the kind of observations they need on an hourly basis and fulfilling that need for the base,” said 1st Lt. Kyle Hannon, officer in charge of weather operations for the 3d CWS during the storm.

During the storm, roads became too dangerous for travel. The squadron relied on Airmen who lived on or near the base to maintain operations. Temperatures remained below freezing for seven days so ice and snow did not melt right away.

At times, the weather sensors malfunctioned or couldn’t fully capture the current conditions, and Airmen added what they could see and hear to the reports.

“Tuesday night, when the freezing rain came in, we were in the depths of it. That was really when we had to do a lot more augmenting of the observations,” said Senior Airman Clarice Newkumet, 3d CWS forecaster.  “There are elements that our sensor cannot judge as well as we can with our own eyes and ears.”

Over the course of the storm the Robert Gray Army Airfield at Fort Hood received three inches of freezing rain, four inches of snow and temperatures as low as one degree Fahrenheit.

“It was a very different experience from what I’ve dealt with in weather so far because I’ve only done it in Texas,” said Airman 1st Class Riley Schorzman, 3d CWS forecaster, who took the first shifts when the storm began.

While Airmen were collecting weather data at the Airfield, most of their homes were without power or water for portions of the storm. Some families kept food refrigerated by setting it outside, melted snow to flush their toilets and ate foods that didn’t need to be cooked.

“It reaffirmed that I don’t want to be totally reliant on electric appliances ever again,” said Newkumet.

As the storm progressed and utilities went down, members of the squadron helped each other stay warm and find food and water.

“This event reaffirmed for me as the commander how much of a family we really are because even the organizations outside headquarters were reaching out to us,” said Lt. Col. Danele Richardson, 3d CWS commander. “Hopefully all our Airmen felt that too.”

Although this was a rare event in Texas that is unlikely to occur again anytime soon, the storm gave the 3d CWS experience to make them even more effective and useful to the Army units it supports and the Fort Hood area.

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