Hurricane Ian ravaged Florida, causing power disruptions, storm surges, and general destruction throughout the state. However, on Wednesday, a group of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron left Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi to fly directly into the hurricane. Why? To gather information to determine the path of the storm and its intensity.
The commander of the flight, Major Kendall Dunn, described how intense the mission was. “We flew into it, 10,000 feet and the first couple passes into the storm, standard stuff for us Hurricane Hunters, seeing 100 mile an hour winds or so,” he announced Wednesday, in his interview on “Your World with Neil Cavuto.“
Dunn continued:
But the third and fourth pass, they were life changers. Honestly… we were doing what we need to do just to keep the airplane airborne, keep it right side up. It was pretty intense. The eyewall was something I’ve never seen. The amount of mesocyclones and tornadoes inside the wall. It was an absolute mess.
It’s the strongest storm I’ve ever been in.
Hurricane Hunters is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Air Force Reserve; their mission is to fly aircraft into storms, so we can get more information about how they work. Dunn added:
Our radar was showing massive turbulence. The lightning, the hail. The hail itself was unbelievable. To me, it sounded like rocks being poured out of a dump truck. We had paint peeling off the aircraft when we got back. It was intense.
As of late last night, Ian was downgraded to a Category 2 status after landing on the Southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday afternoon. The storm is expected to keep in its fury over the next few days as it heads Northward.
Reports have come out about some of the crazy videos that have emerged from Florida over the past 24 hours. They are very intense. There have also been reports about the absurd attempts of the Left to politicize the storm.
The storm isn't finished in its destruction and there will be updates on the storm as the situation evolves. For now, be mindful of how courageous and a bit crazy these storm chasers are.
