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Hurricane hunters,typhoon hunters, orcyclone hunters are aircrews that fly intotropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are theUnited States Air Force Reserve's53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'sHurricane Hunters. Such missions have also been flown by Navy units and other Air Force and NOAA units. Other organizations also fly these missions, such asGovernment Flying Service Hong Kong.
The first crewed flight into a hurricane happened in 1943 when a pilot-trainer flew into aCategory 1 hurricane nearGalveston, Texas on a bet.[1]
In the past, beforesatellites were used to find tropical storms, military aircraft flew routine weather reconnaissance tracks to detect formation of tropical cyclones. While modern satellites have improved the ability of meteorologists to detect cyclones before they form, only aircraft are able to measure the interiorbarometric pressure of a hurricane and provide accurate wind speed data, information needed to accurately predict hurricane development and movement.
The Air Force Reserve53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the world's only operational military weather reconnaissance unit, is based atKeesler Air Force Base inBiloxi, Mississippi; most weather recon flights originate there. The term "hurricane hunters" was first applied to its missions in 1946.
The USAFR hurricane hunters fly weather missions in an area midway through the Atlantic Ocean to theHawaiian Islands, and have on occasion flown into typhoons in thePacific Ocean and gathered data in winter storms.
The 53rd WRS hurricane hunters operate tenLockheed WC-130J aircraft, which fly directly into hurricanes, typically penetrating the hurricane's eye several times per mission at altitudes between 500 feet (150 m) and 10,000 feet (3,000 m).
The civilian andNOAA Corps crew members of theNOAA Hurricane Hunters, originally based at theAircraft Operations Center atMacDill AFB, inTampa,Florida, mainly perform surveillance, research, and reconnaissance with highly instrumented aircraft including airborneDoppler weather radar measurements in both Atlantic and Pacific storms. In June 2017[2][3] the Hunters moved into a new facility atLakeland Linder International Airport in Lakeland, Florida, having been at MacDill since 1993. They fly twoLockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, heavily instrumented flying laboratories modified to take atmospheric and radar measurements within tropical cyclones and winter storms, and aG-IV Gulfstream high-altitude jet above 41,000 feet (12 km) to document upper- and lower-level winds that affect cyclone movement. The computer models that forecast hurricane tracks and intensity mainly use G-IVdropsonde data collected day and night in storms affecting the United States.
On September 27, 2024, NOAA announced it had awarded a contract toLockheed Martin Aeronautics for twoLockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft configured for use as hurricane hunters to replace its aging WP-3D Orions, with service entry planned in 2030.[4]
Since 2009 theGovernment Flying Service of Hong Kong (GFS) have conducted regular flight data collection in cooperation with theHong Kong Observatory. In 2011, the cooperation between GFS and the Observatory extended to reconnaissance flights to capture weather data fortropical cyclones over theSouth China Sea.[5] In September 2016 they introduced the dropsonde system, which collects extra meteorological data on tropical cyclones to enhance the monitoring oftyphoons.[6]
Among the types of aircraft that have been used to investigate hurricanes, are an instrumentedLockheed U-2 flown inHurricane Ginny during the1963 Atlantic hurricane season. Other types include theA-20 Havoc, 1944;B-24, 1944–1945;B-17, 1945–1947;B-25, 1946–1947;B-29, 1946–1947.WB-29, 1951–1956;WB-50, 1956–1963;WB-47, 1963–1969;WC-121N 1954–1973;WC-130A, B, E, H, 1965–2012.
The idea of aircraft reconnaissance of hurricane storm trackers was put forth by Captain W. L. Farnsworth of the Galveston Commercial Association in the early 1930s. Supported by theUnited States Weather Bureau, the "storm patrol bill" passed both theUnited States Senate andUnited States House of Representatives on June 15, 1936.[7]
The first time a reconnaissance flight took place with the sole purpose of locating a hurricane was during the1935 Great Labor Day Hurricane, which would later become the strongest storm to ever impact the U.S.
On September 1, the storm moved through The Bahamas where it was estimated to be at hurricane strength. As a result, ships began to avoid theFlorida Straits, depriving the Weather Bureau of valuable information. This led to confusion as the Weather Bureau believed it would continue on its westward path and make landfall inCuba while the Cuba weather service didn't see any evidence for this.
On September 2, a pilot flying over theFlorida Keys noticed a large cloud mass to the east and more north than it should have been. The Cuban weather service requested a plane to be sent up to find the storm, with Captain Leonard Povey volunteering. After circling, but not penetrating (his plane had an open cockpit), the storm, he confirmed the storm was located more north than originally thought and actually heading northeast. This was relayed to the Weather Bureau, which immediately put warnings out for the Florida Keys. The storm would make landfall later that day.
Capt. Povey urged Congress and the Weather Bureau to implement full-time reconnaissance planes, but to no avail. A plan was laid out to use Coast Guard cutters, but was never implemented.[8]
The1943 Surprise Hurricane, which struckHouston, Texas, during World War II, marked the first intentional meteorological flight into a hurricane. It started with a bet.
That summer, British pilots were being trained in instrument flying atBryan Field. When they saw that the Americans were evacuating theirAT-6 Texan trainers in the face of the storm, they began questioning the construction of the aircraft. Lead instructorColonelJoe Duckworth took one of the trainers out and flew it straight into the eye of the storm. After he returned safely withnavigator Lt. Ralph O'Hair, the base's weather officer, Lt. William Jones-Burdick, took over the navigator's seat and Duckworth flew into the storm a second time.[9][10]
This flight showed that hurricane reconnaissance flights were possible, and further flights continued occasionally. In 1946, the moniker "Hurricane Hunters" was first used, and the Air Force and now Air Force Reserve have used it ever since. The flights demonstrated that hurricane reconnaissance flights were feasible.[11][12]
The United States Navy's VW-4 / WEARECORON FOUR Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Four, "Hurricane Hunters" was the seventh U.S. Navy squadron dedicated to weather reconnaissance. They flew several types of aircraft, but theWC-121N "Willy Victor" was the aircraft most often associated with flying into the "eye of the storm." The squadron operated WC-121s between late 1954 and 1972.[13] VW-4 lost one aircraft with its crew of 11 in a penetration ofHurricane Janet in 1955,[14] and another to severe damage in a storm, but the severely damaged Willy Victor (MH-1) brought her crew home, although she never flew again. During 1973–1975, VW-4 operated the turbine-propellerLockheed WP-3A Orion.
The landfall ofHurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005 devastatedKeesler Air Force Base, home of the 53rd WRS. The equipment and personnel of the squadron were flying out ofDobbins Air Reserve Base nearAtlanta. Despite heavy equipment losses, the squadron never missed a mission from theNational Hurricane Center. The 53rd has since returned to Keesler.
Areality television series featuring the USAFR 53rd WRS, entitledHurricane Hunters, debuted onThe Weather Channel in July 2012.[25]
The story of the NOAA flight duringHurricane Hugo was shown as part of theMayday television show on the during2015.[26]
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