Hurricane Hunters fly into Tropical Depression 10

Several missions are planned for NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters to fly into Tropical Depression 10 on Sunday.

An Aircraft Reconnaissance plan showed at least seven scheduled flights into the tropical system.

According to the Hurricane Hunters website, NOAA pilots, planes and researchers fly into the world’s worst weather. Data collected by the agency’s high-flying meteorological stations help forecasters make accurate predictions during a hurricane and help hurricane researchers achieve a better understanding of storm processes, improving their forecast models.

And, it can be a very bumpy ride. In a video posted Friday, August 25, 2023, the crew shared their view from Tropical Storm Franklin. Franklin has since become a hurricane.

Here is a look at what it’s like to fly into a tropical storm. This is last night’s flight into #TropicalStormFranklin pic.twitter.com/CT3vIpaOpB — Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) August 25, 2023

Hurricane Hunter teams include: Pilots, Flight Engineers to monitor aircraft systems, a Navigator to determine route guidance and track storm movement, a Flight Director to run the science mission, a data system operator to ensure the various mission systems are talking to each other, and a sonobuoy and dropsonde operator who deploys sensors into a storm.