NOAA Hurricane Hunter Flies Into Category 5 Hurricane Polo And Breaks Into Eye

A NOAA Hurricane Hunter flies through the eyewall of Hurricane Polo before breaking into the calm center of the powerful Category 5 storm.

Footage from NOAA42 “Kermit” shows a crew member holding up three fingers and saying it is the aircraft’s third pass through Polo that day. Another crew member, identified as Henry, sits harnessed beside a launch chute while preparing dropsondes and bathythermographs.

As the aircraft enters the eyewall, rain streaks across the window and thick clouds surround the plane. Moments later, the clouds open to reveal blue sky and the aircraft’s four-engine wing as Kermit emerges into the eye.

Polo was a Category 5 hurricane during the September 25 mission. A NOAA research aircraft measured 165-knot flight-level winds, while the National Hurricane Center said data from the aircraft supported sustained winds of 155 knots, or 180 mph, with a central pressure of about 913 millibars.

The crew launched dropsondes, bathythermographs and a drone during the mission for hurricane research. NOAA42 Kermit and NOAA43 “Miss Piggy” were operating from Harlingen, Texas. NOAA’s mission data confirms Kermit’s September 25 flight into Polo.