Hurricane Hunter Plane Flies Through the Heart Of Hurricane Milton While Folks On The Ground Evacuate

Less than two weeks after the last big storm battered the southern states of America, another is bearing down at a ferocious rate. Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida later Wednesday. Evacuation orders are in place and residents being told to protect their homes from flooding as best they can, but while most people run when they see a hurricane, the crew of one aircraft do the exact opposite and fly right to the heart of a storm surge.

I Need A Convertible That Can Handle Colorado Winters | WCSYB?

The plane in question is the Hurricane Hunter, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration here in the U.S. Technically, it’s three planes operated by the NOAA’s hurricane hunting pilots and crews, who fly around storms in America collecting all kinds of vital data about the systems.

The planes, which includes two Lockheed WP-3D Orion planes and a Gulfstream IV-SP, are packed with sensors that can measure everything from windspeed to humidity high in the sky. They’re sent out to all kinds of storms across America to help forecasters predict their paths and plot how they will change as they reach land.

The Hurricane Hunter planes have had a busy week checking in on the monstrous Hurricane Milton storm that is barreling towards Florida right now. To do this, they have been flying through the storm surge and now, crew members have filmed their view from inside the planes and it does not look fun.

Hurricane hunters fly into Hurricane Milton to collect data

In two videos posted online this week, NOAA crews offer a glimpse inside the cockpit of one plane and inside the belly of another. From the clips, you can see researchers working to keep an eye on all the instruments that are monitoring conditions outside.

From the cockpit, you can see just how much the plane is being bounced around by the rough air outside. Despite the jumps and jolts going through the plane, the five people inside remain calm and keep everything nicely under control.

In the second clip, however, things look a little more chaotic. While the plane hits rough air, equipment and paperwork inside is thrown around. One crewmember loses their phone as it slides along the floor, and the two people in frame reach for the ceiling to try and steady themselves through the storm.

It’s certainly a bumpy ride for everyone onboard, and definitely not somewhere you would like to be if you have any form of fear of flying. Still, it makes for a fascinating watch when you’re comfortably sat on your sofa on terra firma.

White it’s a turbulent ride for the crew of the Hurricane Hunters, it’s expected to be an even rougher few days for the residents of Florida. Hurricane Milton remains a category five storm this morning, meaning that it’s bringing enormous storm surges to Florida’s coast and winds of more than 155 mph.