WEBVTT

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🎶

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The job of a hurricane
hunter is not for the faint of heart.

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This brave crew must fly straight

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into one of the most destructive forces
in nature.

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Hurricanes are born over the open ocean.

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And while satellites
can track their movement, meteorologists

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and researchers
need to sample the storms directly

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to get the most accurate information
about them.

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NOAA's Hurricane Hunter fleet

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includes two P-3 turboprop aircraft,

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as well as a Gulfstream IV jet.

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The P-3s fly through the storm, encountering
devastating winds

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that can be over 150 miles per hour.

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Well, the best way I could describe
it is it's

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sort of like riding a roller coaster
through a car wash

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because you can't see anything out

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the windows in the eyewall.

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It's just like a car wash.

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It actually even in the middle of the day
gets dark inside the airplane.

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It's raining so hard.

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The jet can fly higher

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than the turboprops, gathering data

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from higher in the atmosphere.

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Both planes have high tech equipment
on board to get the job done,

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like radar and fixed probes
that measure particles in the air.

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Scientists also deploy dropsondes

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which parachute down through the hurricane
to the ocean surface,

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sending back data on pressure,
temperature, humidity, and wind.

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These measurements can help us understand

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the structure of a storm
and the winds that are steering it.

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The data is used in
computer models that help forecasters

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predict how intense the hurricane will be
and where and when it will strike land.

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We will fly twice a day.

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This airplane will just go day, night,

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day, night, day,
night for six days in a row.

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And the missions last anywhere
between eight and nine hours.

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Hurricane hunters take a literal look into
the eye of a monster formed by nature.

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Their courage
helps further science and save lives.

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🎶