NONFICTION

Eye of the Storm: NASA, Drones, and the Race To Crack the Hurricane Code

by Amy CHERRIX
80p. (Scientists in the Field). bibliog. diag. further reading. glossary. index. maps. notes. photos. websites. HMH. Apr. 2017. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780544411654.
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Gr 4–7—Opening with a tragic anecdote about a Staten Island family displaced and disrupted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the narrative quickly shifts to its central topic, the physics of hurricane formation and the research being done at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, located on the eastern shore of Virginia. Though the story is occasionally unfocused, the bulk of the text outlines efforts to improve understanding of a hurricane's early stages using data gathered by a Global Hawk drone, a demonstration aircraft retired from the U.S. Air Force. Personal profiles of many of the scientists detail training and interests and offer a window into the life of a researcher. Much information is provided about the aircraft's instrumentation, the work of the meteorologists on the ground, and the slow-paced "office work" of operating the drone from a computer at the Virginia facility. Edifying sidebars examine tangential topics such as the ecology of nearby Chincoteague Island, the backgrounds of NASA meteorologists, and the different flight patterns of the drone. A closing chapter gives overviews of other cyclonic storms in recent history and suggests implications for the research in a broader context. The volume is abundantly illustrated with photos of the research facility, the equipment, and the people who use and maintain it, as well as with numerous maps, charts, and other graphics.
VERDICT Well researched and engagingly written, this is an occasionally fascinating entry on hurricane prediction for middle schoolers. Robust science collections should consider.
Reviewed by Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson Middle School, Falls Church, VA
When thirteen-year-old Angela Dresch walks out on the Staten Island Beach on the afternoon of October 29, 2012, neither she nor readers know that in a few hours she will be one of the "53 people in New York who lost their lives to Hurricane Sandy." Because Sandy was designated a (seemingly innocent) Category 1 hurricane, it lulled thousands of individuals into complacent decisions to ride out the storm in their own homes. Beginning the book with this singular human tragedy introduces and personalizes the work of scientists located on Wallops Island, Virginia, trying to understand and forecast a storm's intensity in order to create maximum time to inform at-risk residents if or when they need to evacuate. Cherrix provides clear and informative background on storm formation before turning to a 2014 mission in which NASA pilots, operating the Global Hawk drone, photograph and release sensors transmitting information from a developing storm off the coast of Africa to data interpreters thousands of miles away in Virginia. Biographical information on a variety of scientists, ranging from meteorologists to aeronautical engineers, creates a number of entry points for potential readers. A final, slightly rushed chapter points out the political consequences of the 1970 cyclone in the Bay of Bengal and 2005's Hurricane Katrina, then concludes with a remembrance service for Angela Dresch, bringing the book full circle. Appended with instructions on how to prepare for hurricanes, a glossary, recommended further reading and websites, a bibliography, and an index. betty carter
 , May 01, 2017

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