Severe storms hit Mountain Home AFB

Published Aug. 25, 2009
By 1st Lt. Daniel Muggelberg
366th Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight

MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- Throughout the summer, Mountain Home Air Force Base has experienced an unusually elevated number of adverse weather events. The men and women of the 366th Operations Support Squadron weather flight keep watch of the skies over base to safeguard its personnel, assets and infrastructure from weather hazards before they happen.

A typical summer in Idaho is defined as hot and sunny with occasional dry thunderstorms and gusts of wind in the afternoons. The summer of 2009, however, has been a topsy-turvy one in which record-breaking low and high temperatures have been set, heavy rains have fallen, and severe thunderstorms have wreaked havoc across southwest Idaho.

To put this into perspective, in conjunction with the 25th Operational Weather Squadron, located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., the Gunfighter Weather Flight distributed more than 80 weather warnings so far this year. Eleven of those warnings were issued for forecasts of severe weather within five miles of base. Although, there has been only one confirmed severe wind event this year on base, last year we saw four severe wind events with winds greater than 58 miles per hour, including a record 75 mph wind gust in June. This is a staggering statistic considering over the last 20 years, Mountain Home AFB has averaged only one severe thunderstorm per year.

Even though the Aug. 6 storm didn't officially produce severe weather on base, Capt. Chris Wireman, 366th OSS flight commander, said, "Our Doppler Radar System indicated the supercell thunderstorm on Aug. 6 had the potential of producing large hail and damaging winds. The core and most intense part of this storm just missed the base to the northwest by only 10 miles."

As a reminder to personnel on base, a "Watch" is issued when the potential exists for severe weather to develop, and a "Warning" is issued when severe weather is forecast to affect the base. The abnormally high number of severe weather warnings were delivered with enough time to give 366th Fighter Wing leadership the ability to protect aircraft, equipment and personnel during the threat window. Such seamless lines of communication and quick actions by professional Airmen resulted in no weather-related damage to the base's aircraft or infrastructure and no injuries to any Gunfighters.

No matter how crazy the weather gets, the men and women of the 366th OSS weather flight will continue keeping their eyes to the sky protecting the base from Mother Nature's most severe weather.

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Severe storms hit Mountain Home AFB

Severe storms hit Mountain Home AFB

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