Hurricane Irma: This is what it’s like to fly into the eye of the intensifying storm

Hurricane Irma is still strengthening over the Atlantic, as forecasters work around the clock to predict how strong it will get and where it might make landfall.

Right now it’s a Category 4 storm, with 130 mile per hour winds and the potential for catastrophic damage. But it’s still not yet clear where it’s headed.

To figure that out and deliver the best possible predictions to worried coastal communities, forecasters need to know as much as they can about the storm—and that means someone’s got to fly right into it. Enter the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “Hurricane Hunters,” who made their very first flight into Hurricane Irma on Sunday, according to AL.com.

They came back with an airplane full of data—and a video that shows just how intense the storm is on the inside, particularly near the eyewall at the center of the storm.

The video was taken by Lt. Rob Mitchell of NOAA, according to WFLA, from the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft that flew into the storm. The aircraft is more commonly (and affectionately) known as Kermit. The other WP-3D that NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters rely on is known as—you guessed it—Miss Piggy.

During their flights, NOAA’s Hurricane Hunters take vital radar readings and drop sensors to help forecasters get the real-world data they need to track the storm’s path and intensity, according to Fox 13. Their radar systems scan the storm vertically and horizontally, and the aircraft can send out probes to measure the sea temperature, AL.com reports.

The data isn’t only for scientists to play with. It will help meteorologists and others figure out where the storm is headed with as much accuracy as possible, according to Fox 13, helping keep millions informed and even saving lives.

The storm is expected to strengthen this week, and states of emergency have already been declared in Florida and Puerto Rico as a precaution, according to Reuters.

“We’re looking at Irma as a very significant event,” Ronald Jackson, executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, told WFLA. “I can’t recall a tropical cone developing that rapidly into a major hurricane prior to arriving in the central Caribbean.”

NOAA will likely perform flights every day into the storm for several more days, Fox 13 reports. Other flights into the storm are performed by the U.S. Air Force’s 53rd Weather Research Squadron, which is based in Mississippi.

This story was originally published September 4, 2017 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Hurricane Irma: This is what it’s like to fly into the eye of the intensifying storm."