Osan forecasters critical to mission efficiency

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Flying fighter jets is at the forefront of Osan Air Base's mission, and weather plays a big piece in flying missions, so it's better to stay ahead of the game. This is where the members of the 51st Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight come in.

With multiple computer systems and manual readings to work with, the forecasters here keep pilots informed on the most up-to-date information which keeps them safe, explained Master Sgt. Ryan Nuss, 51st OSS Weather Flight chief.

"In the weather flight, our job is to give the pilots and commanders decision-grade weather information to help them exploit the weather for battle," he said. "The mission is very high paced. With the enemy as close as they are, we always remain on top of things."

However, the enemy is not the only challenge these Airmen are presented at Osan, he explained. Just like anywhere in the world, the weather is unique to the country, and forecasters have to meet the requirements for both reading the weather and understanding the aircraft the base have, explained Senior Airman Clarissa Stofferan, 51st OSS weather forecaster.

"There are different rules we have to follow for different aircraft," she said. "We usually look out from a six to nine hour period. The best thing about my job is that it requires a lot of thought process. It allows me to exercise my brain every day."

The tools they work with are also different than tools in the United States, and the overall data in the surrounding areas limits their visibility spectrum. Yellow dust also becomes a nuisance as it rolls in from the dunes of China and attaches to the moisture in the area.

"The weather here is tricky," Nuss said. "It changes quickly, and the fog will roll in from nowhere, which can make it very difficult to predict. We also have sparse data from the Sea of Japan and China. It's much more challenging because in America, you can look at the computer models and see a thunderstorm about an hour out. You can also look at the surrounding states and see what is coming your way. For us here, there are very few locations that actually give us good weather data, so we are a little limited."

Like any good weather forecaster, according to Nuss, being able to visualize the atmosphere in 3-D is usually what it takes to get the job done.

"A good forecaster can time the weather within 10 minutes of when it's going to happen. They need to know what happens from the surface through every slice of the atmosphere all the way up, and a good forecaster can think outside of the box."

Osan's 13 weather forecasters are separated into three sections: the staff, airfield services and the mission weather element. Each element comes together to make a definitive decisions on the weather in order to give the commanders immediate feedback if something changes.
Although met with Osan's challenging weather, there are positive outcomes.

"The people are the best part," said Nuss. "We have a great team here."