It's a lightweight sensor that attaches to the outside of airplanes and constantly measures changing humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speeds, and more.  Mark Anderson, President of AirDat, says their device is engineered for easy installation on any existing aircraft.  But the primary focus is the swarms of small airplanes that constantly crisscross the sky where weather is developing.  Currently, data from those altitudes is mostly limited to twice daily weather balloon readings.  Anderson says initial tests showed thousands of real-time measurements can be instantly sent to the ground and assembled into a richer picture of evolving weather.  With the National Academy of Engineering, Randy Atkins, WTOP Radio.

 

Resources

• How AirDat's TAMDAR Sensor and System work—AirDat says their sensor creates almost no drag and doesn't interact with any critical aircraft systems.  
• Read the new TAMDAR overview (PDF file, 427 KB)
• Fly into a hurricane with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron
• Other tools of the atmospheric scientist