AL UDEID AIR BASE, QATAR -- The weather team alerts command post of a weather situation. Soon the giant voice is heard across the installation announcing a weather advisory, watch, or warning and the AtHoc Network Crisis Communications Platform uses pop-up messages on workstation computers to notify personnel of weather conditions.
These are two man systems to ensure personnel are aware of weather updates at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.
“Our mission is to provide accurate weather reports for Al Udeid Air Base and forecast upcoming weather for the entire U.S. Central Command area of responsibility that fly through the theater,” said Capt. Matthew Perkins, 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather flight commander.
There are a variety of career fields at AUAB and across the AOR who depend on weather reports and data.
“Everyone is affected by the weather in some capacity,” said Perkins. “Weather can affect a variety of units and people need to know the weather if they’re working outside.”
For example, if the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron is hosting a “paint and sip” event outside and rain is in the forecast, then we will contact them to provide time to move inside, Perkins added.
One of the tools the weather team uses to collect data is a Tactical Meteorological Observing System. The TMOS collects temperature, dew point, humidity, pressure readings, and other information. There are additional systems weather forecasters use to process the data and predict weather: Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), Global forecast System (GFS), Global Air Land Weather Exploitation Model (GALWEM).
“We have several models that read weather and make observations using real time data,” said Senior Airman Tania Johnson-Hester. “The models build a forecast based on the data and the historical climatology to predict the weather.”
“We go outside, take observations by analyzing the atmosphere and then we look at the models and forecast out for five weeks based on the information coming through the systems,” said Johnson-Hester. “We also have satellite and radar imagery that goes from the surface to the atmosphere.”
The weather team’s primary job is resource protection and having accurate forecasts aid in protecting resources.
“Weather is not a perfect science, we work with tools used to develop an accurate forecast that will protect people on base and help accomplish missions,” said Johnson-Hester.