Jewish Holidays Change Storm-Flight Atmosphere

The peak of the hurricane season is approaching and so are the Jewish High Holy Days. For scientists, this can mean only one thing:

They must summon Team Goyim, the non-Jewish scientists who fly aboard Hurricane Hunter planes during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

The team's motto: "When hurricanes threaten during the High Holidays, it is time to call in 'Team Goyim'."

On Thursday, with newly born Tropical Storm Dolly growing in the Atlantic, that call went out from the government's Hurricane Research Division on Virginia Key:

If you're a hurricane scientist who is not likely to be in synagogue next week, you are likely to find yourself bumping through a tropical storm or hurricane.

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown next Friday, Sept. 6, and runs through sundown Sept. 8. Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, begins at sundown Sept. 15.

Goyim is a Hebrew term for "non-Jews."

"It's a little inside joke with us," said Michael Black, a manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who schedules scientists for the flights. "Don't worry, we say. 'Team Goyim will get the job done.'"

This is of only passing comfort for Jewish scientists at the research facility. Though dangerous and uncomfortable, missions aboard Hurricane Hunter flights are treasured, and scientists hate to miss an opportunity.

"The peak of the season is Sept. 10 or 11 and the High Holidays nearly always fall in September, and this always becomes an issue," said research meteorologist Stanley Goldenberg, one of about a half-dozen Jewish scientists in the division.

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