What is flying into the eye of a hurricane like?
It’s a once in a lifetime experience! We fly aboard NOAA WP-3D four engine turbo prop research planes. Flying into a hurricane can be turbulent at times. You feel like you’re on a roller-coaster — for 10 hours. I have flown in a variety of storms, from tropical storms that have winds speeds in the range of 34-63 knots (39-73 mph) to powerful category 5 hurricanes with winds speeds that exceed 136 knots (156 mph)! A lot of people have the misconception that we fly above the storms, but we actually fly into the thick of it, about 10,000-12,000 feet above sea level. The most turbulence is experienced in the eyewall. The eyewall is a ring or band of strong deep convective clouds that surrounds the eye (the center) of a hurricane. The highest wind speeds are found in the eyewall. Once you go through the eyewall to the eye—the storm’s center— it can be fairly calm. It’s an amazing sight to see; it’s almost like being in the center of a football stadium where the seats surrounding you are ma
