Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth

Re:Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth by volkk on Tuesday September 12, 2017 @11:09AM (#15227880)

> In a NOAA reconnaissance mission, a plane flew through the eye wall to gather data on the storm, recording winds of 139 miles per hour at sea level.

What kind of planes can safely fly through a storm like this? Or is the eye a lot safer to go through?

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Re:Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth by sp332 on Tuesday September 12, 2017 @11:26AM (#15228040)

NOAA Hurricane hunters fly WP-3 Orions. https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/aircraft-operations/aircraft... USAF 53rd Weather Reconniassance Squadron fly WC-130s. http://www.militaryaircrafthistorian.com/53rd_wrs.html

Inside the eye can be calm, but the highest winds, wind shear, tornadoes, rainfall, and hail, are in the eye wall.

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Re:Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth by volkk on Tuesday September 12, 2017 @11:50AM (#15228286)

I tried to read a bit about it, but couldn't really find much in terms of--what makes these planes a lot more durable than your standard 737/747?

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Re:Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth by okreallywtf on Tuesday September 12, 2017 @01:55PM (#15229585)

I wondered specifically why both planes were prop driven (seems like a jet engine would have more thrust and you wouldn't have to worry about wind forces on the props) and I found this, hopefully it helps with your question as well.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/cox/2016/05/...

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Re:Watching Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Katia From Above Earth by volkk on Tuesday September 12, 2017 @02:21PM (#15229923)

This is awesome. Thanks!

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