{"id":24330,"date":"2024-05-06T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/05\/06\/eyeing-the-storm-air-forces-hurricane-hunters-are-busier-than-ever\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:23:42","slug":"eyeing-the-storm-air-forces-hurricane-hunters-are-busier-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/disaster\/2024\/05\/06\/eyeing-the-storm-air-forces-hurricane-hunters-are-busier-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"Eyeing the storm: Air Force\u2019s \u2018Hurricane Hunters\u2019 are busier than ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN \u2014 About 130 miles off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, Master Sgt. Shawn Hogue grabs a tube from above his computer station in the belly of a WC-130J \u201cWeatherbird\u201d and launches it through a chute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Falling from 23,000 feet, it takes the tube \u2014 called a dropsonde \u2014 about 10 minutes to hit the water. The instrument weighs less than a pound, and is the centerpiece of the day\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2022\/10\/02\/hurricane-hunters-fly-into-the-eye-of-storms-like-ian-and-fiona\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7438913.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Hurricane Hunters fly into the eye of storms like Ian and Fiona<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Hurricane Hunters of the Air Force Reserve\u2019s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron collect weather data to help forecasters track storms.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Equipped with a small parachute, sensors, a microprocessor, radio transmitter and GPS gear, the dropsonde measures air temperature, the dew point, and wind speed and direction as it falls toward the ocean, sending data back to the aircraft along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hogue, the aircraft\u2019s loadmaster, checks whether the information is coming in clean. He passes it to Maj. Chris Dyke, the mission\u2019s aerial reconnaissance weather officer, or flying meteorologist, who sits a few feet away at a special computer where he analyzes information gathered by the dropsonde and other aircraft sensors, then transmits it to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a real hurricane, the meteorologist would use the atmospheric data they collected to help direct the Weatherbird into the swirling storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a reserve unit from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, is preparing for hurricane season. Known as the \u201cHurricane Hunters,\u201d the 53rd plays a critical role gathering data inside storms to help the NHC improve its forecasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2977\" height=\"2970\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72385\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg 2977w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=768,766 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,1022 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1532 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5615.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,2043 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2977px) 100vw, 2977px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Maj. Chris Dyke, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer assigned to the Air Force Reserve&#8217;s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters, analyzes weather data onboard a WC-130J during a flight along the East Coast in April 2024. (Courtney Mabeus-Brown\/Air Force Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLike any good reconnaissance mission, our job is to create certainty out of uncertainty,\u201d Dyke told reporters ahead of a demonstration flight along the East Coast on April 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weathering the storm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Comprised of 10 WC-130J aircraft loaded with weather-measuring equipment, the Hurricane Hunters are an exclusive Air Force mission. The unit was first established in 1943 and reactivated as part of the 403rd Operations Group at Keesler in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With 10 full-time and 10 part-time crews during hurricane season, which officially starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30 each year, the 53rd can simultaneously fly in three separate storms from locations across the continental U.S., as well as from Hawaii and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Five airmen work aboard each flight: two pilots, a navigator, an aerial reconnaissance weather officer and a loadmaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the 53rd isn\u2019t only on the hunt for hurricanes. Since 2020, crews <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/12\/17\/cold-winds-dont-stop-hurricane-hunters-winter-storm-missions-begin\/\" target=\"_blank\">now spend the winter tracking \u201catmospheric rivers,\u201d or tropical winter storms that can dump massive amounts of rain or snow along America\u2019s coasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 53rd\u2019s hunting has intensified as storms grow more frequent. Since 2018, the demand for winter reconnaissance flights has increased more than 600%. For hurricane season, it\u2019s grown by 18%, according to the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fiscal year 2023, the Hurricane Hunters flew 93 tropical reconnaissance missions into 16 named storms, plus 48 missions during the winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2020\/07\/28\/eye-of-the-storm-airmen-fly-through-years-first-pacific-hurricane\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Hurricane-Hunter-7.jfif_.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Eye of the storm: Airmen fly through year\u2019s first Pacific hurricane<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Hurricane Hunters repeatedly flew into the eye of Douglas to collect a variety of meteorological data that will help with hurricane forecasts.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThose are the highest we\u2019ve had in the last nine years, at least,\u201d Dyke said, adding that the volume of missions in<b> <\/b>2024 is already on track to meet or beat last year \u2014 with about a month to go before hurricane season officially begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In April, forecasters at Colorado State University <a href=\"https:\/\/tropical.colostate.edu\/Forecast\/2024-04.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">predicted the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season<\/a> will become \u201cextremely active\u201d due to warm seawater and less wind shear to disrupt storms. CSU believes the season will generate five major hurricanes with winds above 111 mph, out of 11 hurricanes and 23 named storms in total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Responding to more storms leaves less time to train and maintain the Hurricane Hunters\u2019 aging fleet of aircraft, which averages almost 23 years old. The squadron completed its transition from the older C-130H to the WC-130J in 2005, and each aircraft has flown more than 6,500 hours on average, according to Air Force data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey are definitely spread thin,\u201d Maj. Gen. C. McCauley von Hoffman, deputy chief of staff of the Air Force Reserve, told reporters. \u201cAt the same time, they would now be considered an aging weapons system, with the number of hours on it. So, parts availability, all of that, is hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An aircraft that flies into a hurricane has unique maintenance needs as well, added Col. William Magee, commander of the 403rd Maintenance Group. Hail is one of the biggest culprits of damage, even though planes are painted to defend against it, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After flying through Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm in September 2022, maintainers had to replace several components on one aircraft, including its carbon-fiber propellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEven though they\u2019re modified to take that sort of hail damage, this one was so, so rough we had to change several propellers,\u201d Magee said. \u201cWe had to change the radome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taking into account the violent shaking that the aircraft endure as a result of hurricane-force winds, the corrosive environment they\u2019re exposed to, and the pace of flights, the challenges of the Hurricane Hunters\u2019 unique job are threatening to prove too much for the planes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not authorized to say when enough is enough,\u201d Magee said. \u201cBut we are growing our storm missions at a rate of \u2026 if you were to say, \u2018Today is enough utilization of our airplanes,\u2019 about every two years, we would earn another airplane to maintain that current utilization rate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tight resources can mean making tough decisions. In August, the 53rd pulled aircraft from covering a storm out of St. Croix back to Keesler so they could fly in Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm, Dyke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That could mean going without crucial data if a storm is prioritized over another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow we\u2019re talking about potential impacts to stateside readiness, homeland defense,\u201d Dyke said. \u201cIf you ask the wing commander at Homestead [Air Reserve Base, Florida], the wing commander at Tyndall [AFB, Florida], the wing commander at any coastal installation, they\u2019ll tell you the same thing. They rely on that hurricane center forecast to tell them what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Eyes on the storm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the media flight in April saw mostly sunny skies, during an actual storm, the Hurricane Hunters launch multiple dropsondes from an altitude of about 10,000 feet, including at its eyewall and in the center, as directed by the flying meteorologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Air Force says that data has helped improve the accuracy of hurricane forecasts by 20%, saving $1 million per mile of coastline. Flying in winter storms, too, has helped provide more predictive data, giving local and state officials more lead time to plan ahead on matters such as search-and-recovery efforts and when to lower water reservoirs<b> <\/b>to prevent flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-72389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg 4032w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5605.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1536 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4032px) 100vw, 4032px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pilots Lt. Col. Jesse Rosal, left, and Lt. Col. Stephen Pituch fly a WC-130J assigned to the Air Force Reserve&#8217;s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron along the East Coast, April 24, 2024. (Courtney Mabeus-Brown\/Air Force Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the military and lawmakers increasingly worry about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2021\/04\/27\/climate-change-an-existential-threat-says-secdef\/\" target=\"_blank\">effects of severe weather on military bases<\/a>, the data collected by WC-130J crews can also help officials decide whether to evacuate people and assets like aircraft and ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Col. Stephen Pituch, the copilot on April\u2019s demonstration flight, was the first to fly into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/10\/11\/hurricane-hunters-were-in-the-eye-when-hurricane-michael-roared-ashore\/\">Hurricane Michael<\/a> in October 2018. Michael became the first Category 5 storm to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael advanced from a tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane in less than eight hours, and within two days had roared into a Category 5, Pituch said. Tyndall may not have been evacuated had awareness of the storm\u2019s intensity not been adequately gauged, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tyndall, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/10\/08\/florida-air-force-bases-eye-incoming-hurricane-michael\/\">as well as several other nearby military installations,<\/a> evacuated thousands of personnel and some F-22 Raptor fighters. But the base was flattened by a direct hit from Michael, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/10\/11\/tyndall-sustains-direct-hit-extensive-damage-from-hurricane\/\">which by then had strengthened to a Category 4<\/a>. The base is now more than five years into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/12\/24\/air-force-touts-tyndall-repair-progress-after-receiving-pot-of-money-for-disaster-relief\/\" target=\"_blank\">reconstruction effort<\/a> that is slated to cost about $5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat was never forecast to be more than a Cat. 1,\u201d Pituch said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With an aging fleet of aircraft facing formidable storms, the Air Force&#8217;s Hurricane Hunters are figuring out how to weather the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":72379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":30,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[30,31,15],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3354],"class_list":["post-24330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disaster","category-home","category-management"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"C3ZP7V7CNVD25CGM6PDLJQCLC4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2024\/05\/06\/eyeing-the-storm-air-forces-hurricane-hunters-are-busier-than-ever\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Eyeing the storm: Air Force\u2019s \u2018Hurricane Hunters\u2019 are busier than ever - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With an aging fleet of aircraft facing formidable storms, the Air Force&#039;s Hurricane Hunters are figuring out how to weather the future.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eyeing the storm: Air Force\u2019s \u2018Hurricane Hunters\u2019 are busier than ever\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With an aging fleet of aircraft facing formidable storms, the Air Force&#039;s Hurricane Hunters are figuring out how to 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