To Forecast Spring Flooding, NOAA Planes Fly Slow And Low

March 13, 2020btollesonRSS Sample

Ice flows around a small island in the Mississippi River near Dayton, Minn., on Feb. 13, 2020. Pilots take measurements to try and gauge how much water is in a snowpack.

NOAA’s Commissioned Officer Corps pilots fly special planes and use gamma ray detectors and other equipment to measure ice and snow that will eventually melt into streams and rivers.

(Image credit: Evan Frost /MPR News )