The way the president says this line tells everything about his emotions: the emphasis is on “yet another.” After the failure to significantly change or reform gun laws following the Aurora, CO theater shootings or the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, a program suggested by the president and led by Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama is obviously angered at the reality at hand today. Given the details, however, it is impossible to know where the gun(s) used were obtained.

Essentially, the waves of hot air are enriched at some point with the tropical moisture already present near the Equator. As a result, the perfect breeding ground for a hurricane develops, which may explain why most storms form on the front end of the Saharan layer.

Generally, updates on a hurricane’s status comes once per day, as a flight crew flies all the way to the storm and back. Short of satellite monitoring, this means massive gaps in data received and predictions. It is vital, when planning for such storms, to know up-to-date information, helping to plot evacuation paths and early warnings.

Like much of the military’s current drone program, pilots are rarely at risk in flying the new wave of aircraft. Stationed literally anywhere in the world, often far from danger and thousands of miles from any obstacle, the pilots guide drones like video game craft. A simulated cockpit and visual gives the pilot the ability to accurately steer the craft, but many of the operations are left to the craft. Before long, the drones will be made entirely autonomous, requiring only limited human intervention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unv9C2t7f5c

The specific benefit that the Global Hawk offers over conventional aircraft is the removal of any and all personnel-related features. Seats, equipment, and cargo room are all heavy and limit the fuel performance of an aircraft. Because the Global Hawk is unmanned, it can weigh far less than other planes. 24 hours is actually a small part of its range: the Global Hawk can cruise for “31+” hours!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4ivefUJMUQ

NASA pegs a Global Hawk’s range at 31,000 nautical miles, roughly 35,674 land miles. That means that the 5,579.2 mile round trip from LA to New York is a drop in the bucket for the Global Hawk’s 14,500lb of fuel.

Hurricanes and the North Atlantic do not get along: the extremely cold waters, combined with more rare pressure changes, generally make them energy saps for large storms. Freak weather conditions made for a perfect situation for Nadine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cETcW2ROS70

NATO and Air Force “Hurricane Hunters” launch from Biloxi, Mississippi or MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida, namely to focus on the most active mid-Atlantic region. Rarely, if ever, do storms enter the North Atlantic, making the allocation of weather resources there a waste. Nadine’s path, up into cold waters, made it more or less impossible to reach by sophisticated aircraft, making satellite and drone reconnaissance vital.

This is exactly what it sounds like: a dusty, hot cloud coming off of the Sahara desert, a veritable breeding ground for severe storms and hurricanes.

Interestingly, this layer of sand and air is what fuels the Amazon Rainforest!