FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. —
NASA scientists are flying into Hurricane Earl to gather data about what makes some tropical storms intensify while others fizzle.
The flight is part of a six-week NASA research mission to collect information that could help forecasters accurately predict how strong a hurricane will be.
Forecasters have gotten better at predicting where a storm will go, but they still are puzzled by what makes some storms strengthen into destructive hurricanes.
A former passenger airliner converted into a flying laboratory took off Thursday from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, bound for Earl as it spins towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
NASA also is flying a second airborne lab and an unmanned drone as part of the mission.
State News
NASA studies conditions that make storms intensify
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Obama honors fallen troops at Arlington Cemetery
President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive “to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice.”
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Bryants now living in Miss. Governor’s Mansion
Gov. Phil Bryant and his wife, Deborah, have started living in the renovated Governor’s Mansion, more than four months after he took office. “We’ve got a bed, a couch, a chair, a television,” the governor said. “We’re sort of camping out.”
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MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
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Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
As many as four to eight of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial outlook for the six-month storm season that officially begins June 1. One to three of those could become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher. -
Miss. court sets execution dates for 2 of 3 men
Mississippi will not execute three men on three consecutive days in June, after the state Supreme Court set execution dates a week apart for two men and declined to set a date for a third.
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New, old law makers tout legislative successes
Four state law makers held a legislative review for members of the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce at the newly opened Southern Char restaurant Tuesday night to share with business owners information about new bills and laws that have been passed.
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Prosecutors: Delay sentencing in hate crime case
Federal prosecutors want to delay the sentencing of three white men who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a months-long pattern of harassing blacks that culminated in the fatal rundown of James Craig Anderson.
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Bryant signs laws affecting students and veterans
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Wednesday that requires kindergarteners or first-graders to be tested for dyslexia, a reading disorder that can sometimes go undiagnosed for years and leave children struggling to learn.
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Losing bidder sues over revised bid at state port
A contract dispute has put on hold elevation work at the state port in Gulfport.
The port’s West Pier is being expanded, elevated and updated to house a modern containerized cargo operation. When completed, the pier will include 180 acres elevated for storm-surge protection by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level. -
Mom of man in sisters abduction gets new charge
Prosecutors have increased the severity of charges against the mother of a man who abducted two young Tennessee girls after he killed their mother and oldest sister.
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