This project will have participants using image processing techniques to explore the environmental conditions of Hurricane Opal. Hurricane Opal made landfall in the Pensacola, Florida area on October 4, 1995. For a brief moment in time the winds of the storm reached a peak of 185 mph before slamming into Northwest Florida with 144 mph winds.

Hurricane Opal was born in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico after originating as a tropical wave off the coast of West Africa on September 11. Merging with a broad band low pressure system near the Yucatan peninsula, Hurricane Opal brought forth much misery and destruction. I have provided links to significant stories and accounts of this storm:

• NASA's Hurricane Opal Visualization Page
• Time Magazine
• CNN
• USAToday

As part of this study, participants will analyze wind velocity, precipitation, cloud temperatures, forward speed, develop animations, use digital elevation models to ascertain storm surge, radar images (precipitation & velocity), fly along with the hurricane hunters from Keesler Air Force Base, and learn as much as possible about this storm using image processing techniques. So, without much further ado let's begin .