Thanks Clark. Glad to be here!

When I was flying out of San Diego and the WestPac in general, we held our Mets in great esteem. They were sort of minor deities of salvation...if you will. You'd be surprised how often E2Cs get bounced around the sky from bad WX conditions. Frightful stuff...

Any how...we were always grateful for our WP-3D brethren, and long rage forecasts, since some of our missions were not "3-hour tours."

At the time (this was early 90's when I left) there was a general concern over funding of proper equipment (read: super computing power) for the U.S. We had some good modeling going on (GUNS and NOGAPS was what I remember most as an A/C member) but the horsepower put behind the modeling was lacking.

We changed this didn't we?

I have read a little about FSU's SuperEnsemble, and seem to remember that our FN center hardware was SGI...but I am pretty out of the loop these days.

What have we got going for us, and is the funding for these = the amount of potential damage some of the storms wreak?

Sort of a loaded question, I know...but with insurance rates rising, and populations exploding along the East and Gulf Coasts, I just wonder if we're using the best tools available?

Given that our Gov't just passed a MASSIVE spending bill for transportation, I think this question is relevant.

PS: Not trying to start a political flame war, folks...I just want to make sure we're allocating our resources effectively.

Cheers,
Anton
/32.47N & 79.52W