Assimilating Thor

Aircraft performance increases parallel increases in weather prediction capabilities. When prop wash gave way to jet thrust, weather prediction capabilities both benefited from greater fields of data obtained from air- and space-based weather surveillance and required those data to improve flying safety at the edge of the performance envelope. Later, combat reliability demanded "all weather" airplanes, and those advanced designs benefited from computers which enabled atmospheric modeling to develop into a real-time weather prediction tool. Finally, the interdisciplinary nature of stealth technology paralleled stochastic (vice deterministic) ensemble computer modeling techniques derived from disciplines as diverse as biology, economics, and theoretical physics. The needs of the aviation community changed, and the weather community responded to those needs. Despite these links, the interaction between operational airmen and weather prediction appears surface-deep and may benefit from a more systematic integration.