Use of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems in VORTEX-SE 2017 and LAFE 2017

NOAA/ARL/ATDD’s DJI S-1000 and Microdrone MD4-1000 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) were used in the Verifications of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment Southeast (VORTEX-SE) in northern Alabama in the spring of 2017 and in the Land-Atmosphere Feedback Experiment (LAFE) in central Oklahoma in the late summer of 2017 to measure atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles to an altitude of 365 m and also to map the Earth’s skin temperature. A significant accomplishment was the simultaneous flights of the S-1000 and the MD4-1000 in both the VORTEX-SE and LAFE experiments. Data from each sUAS flown during these experiments will be presented as well as operational lessons learned during the VORTEX-SE experiment involving flight in high wind conditions.