Predicting weather to save money, lives

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dawn Weber
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Weather in England can go from warm and sunny to chilly and rainy in a matter of minutes and one team of Airmen here make sure operational impacts are minimized and provide the base with realtime weather updates, ensuring the safety of Airmen and their families.

The 48th Operations Support Squadron weather flight accurately forecasts the weather with cutting edge technology. According to Tech Sgt. Matthew Renkosiak, 48th OSS weather flight NCO in charge of mission integration function, there are many different forms of technology to give the most accurate forecast such as airfield sensors that update every five seconds and give weather specialists wind speeds, temperatures, dew points and more. Satellites update every 15 to 30 minutes depending on what satellite is being used, and computer models update every six hours, but even with this technology at their fingertips, the weather specialists say they sometimes find it beneficial to step away from their desk and simply go outside.

"Our instincts can sometimes be better than our weather machines," said Renkosiak.

Keeping the team and other agencies abreast of new technologies, techniques and changes in weather patterns minimizes the risk of impacts to readiness. To prepare other agencies on the installation, the weather flight conducts instrument refresher courses, safety briefings and exercises periodically. This directly contributed to the 48th OSS weather flight being named the 2012 Outstanding Air Force Weather Organization in United States Air Forces in Europe.

"Since I've been here, we haven't had to divert an aircraft because of an inaccurate forecast," said Renkosiak.

Without this relevant weather information and prepared aircrews, flying missions can't be conducted.

"If it's real world operations we may not be able to target the areas intended," said Renkosiak. "Accurately forecasting the weather where they want to take off and land is a very important part of our mission."

The 48th OSS weather flight is a small unit on the installation, but they have a large role in supporting the mission.

"In the local area they're getting the mission done and saving the Air Force money," said 2nd Lt. Ustem Nu, 48th OSS wing weather officer about the Airmen in his unit, "In a deployed environment they're using that accurate, timely and relevant weather information, so we can effectively complete the overall mission."