IMPACTS

The last time NASA carried out an in-depth study of winter storms in the heavily populated Northeast, the Berlin Wall had just come down and George H.W. Bush occupied the White House. That changed in mid-January when a team led by University of Washington researcher Lynn McMurdie began a six-week campaign to better understand how snow bands form and evolve.

NASA is sending five airborne campaigns across the United States in 2020 to investigate fundamental processes that ultimately impact human lives and the environment, from snowstorms along the East Coast to ocean eddies off the coast of San Francisco.

Winter snow in the Northeast is quickly catching up with death and taxes in terms of guarantees. We may catch a lucky break every now and then (see: current winter) but more often than not, we get quite powdery from December to March - sometimes in November and April too! While much of the country turns white during the winter, we along the eastern seaboard are more susceptible to really big snows thanks to our ocean proximity. Land-originating systems like Alberta Clippers typically move through rapidly, and thus leave us with minor accumulations.

With snow undermining access to streets, work, and school, snowfall is one of the essential winter climate marvels on the U.S. East Coast. It’s likewise one of the hardest to anticipate.This month NASA is sending a group of researchers, a large group of ground instruments, and two research airplanes to consider the internal activities of blizzards. The Investigation of Microphysics Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms, or IMPACTS, has its first arrangement in a multi-year field crusade from January 17, 2020, through March 1, 2020.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Lynn McMurdie, a University of Washington professor and principal investigator for IMPACTS, NASA's new project to more accurately predict snowstorms.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – It is pretty to look at, but at times, treacherous to encounter: when snowstorms wreak havoc on the ground, it can come with a cost. Yet, because of limited research, snowstorms are not as well-understood as other weather phenomenon. That’s about to change. Inside a noisy hangar at NASA’s Wallops Island facility in Virginia sits a specially outfitted P-3 aircraft, also known as a “snow chaser.” “Snow can have a huge economic impact,” said Lynn McMurdie, principal investigator for a new research project called IMPACTS.

This month NASA is sending a team of scientists, a host of ground instruments, and two research aircraft to study the inner workings of snowstorms. The Investigation of Microphysics Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms, or IMPACTS, has its first deployment in a multi-year field campaign from Jan. 17 through March 1. It will be the first comprehensive study of East Coast snowstorms in 30 years.