What it’s like being a hurricane hunter

Meteorologists often use satellites to track hurricanes, but it’s limited in its ability to measure a hurricane's true intensity. 

But what if we could directly measure the winds inside a hurricane? That’s the job of the hurricane hunters: specially trained teams who fly aircraft directly into some of the most dangerous storms on Earth. They gather valuable information on a hurricane’s development, data that is vital for accurately forecasting both the intensity and path of tropical cyclones.

Graduate research assistant in the Department of Climate, Meteorology, and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois, Eddie Wolff and Air Force Reserve Maj. Ian Park, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, discusses what it’s like to fly towards the eye of the storm.

Funding for Weather Realness is partially provided by the Backlund Charitable Trust.  If you have a question for a local scientist on this program, please leave a voicemail at 217.333.2141 or email weatherrealness@illinois.edu.