Hurricane Hunter

Hurricane season Begins on June 1 and forecasters are getting prepared to track the tropics. Florida is particularly vulnerable, a 450 mile stretch of land, sitting out in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Here in Ocala, Florida is a mere 100 miles across, between the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Hurricane Hunters are manned aircraft that fly into tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic and Northeastern Pacific for the specific purpose of directly measuring weather data in and around those storms. Whilst satellites can now perform this part of the mission, they cannot directly measure the data inside these storms. They cannot determine the interior barometric pressure of a hurricane, nor provide accurate wind speed information. This data is needed to predict hurricane development and movement accurately. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, better known as the Air Force Hurricane Hunters, is a United States Air Force Reserve squadron of 10 aircraft, based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that flies missions into hurricanes and weather systems for research purposes and observation. Hurricane Hunters fly instrumented Lockheed WC-130J aircraft that cost a cool 70 million dollars each, and they have ten of these babies, the only aircraft in the world doing this work. Their area of responsibility is midway through the Atlantic Ocean to the Hawaiian Islands. The AFR Hurricane Hunters have also been tasked to fly into typhoons in the Pacific Ocean on occasion, as well as gather data in winter storms.
One of the 'planes flew in yesterday, and was open to view today, as an encouragement to be prepared for the season. This is the list we are given as a guide to the way to this preparedness.
I thought the plane was really cool.


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