How the USAF collects hurricane data with big, big airplanes.

My dad is retired Air Force and my baby brother has been in the USAF for over 20 years. Growing up, my dad used to talk about all of the services the USAF provides to our country and the world. It employs many musicians, advances airplane safety for civilians, and conducts and sponsors numerous research projects. This post will focus on the USAF's unique position to advance weather and climate science through data collection in large, specialized aircraft that can fly through hurricanes.

Weather forecasting requires data. As reported by Debbie Elliot for NPR, the Air Force collects data that, specifically, will help us better predict severe weather and save lives.

Aside: This whole mission started on a bet:

HOW TO USE IN CLASS:

-I tell my students repeatedly that I'm not trying to turn them into the world's best statisticians. I'm trying to help them learn how to be themselves, with their interests and abilities, but fluent in statistical literacy. This lesson goes better when I can have examples of data jobs that aren't traditional data jobs.

-Research assistants come in all shapes and sizes.

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If your students get the joke, they get statistics.

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