In preparation for Typhoon Kong-rey’s approach, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) activated its “wind chaser” project on Wednesday. With limited weather data available over the ocean and uncertainties in global typhoon tracking models, the project aims to provide essential information for more precise forecasts and public warnings.
In collaboration with National Taiwan University’s Typhoon Research Center and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation, the project employs aerial observation techniques ahead of typhoons. An observation plane took off at 5 a.m. Wednesday from the Taichung International Airport gathering critical data via dropsonde technology. Dropsondes are atmospheric probes that capture and relay data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction.
Real-time data from the dropsonde are sent via satellite to the CWA’s forecasting system and shared with international meteorological agencies. The gathered data assists meteorologists worldwide in estimating typhoon wind radius and intensity, improving the accuracy of predictive models for both the storm's path and structure. The “wind chaser” project, initiated in 2003, has completed 87 such missions.