A dropsonde released by the Hurricane Hunters at 8:55 a.m. EDT recorded an astonishing wind gust of 241 mph (388 km/h) at an altitude of 709 feet, one of the highest wind gusts ever measured in a hurricane. An Air Force hurricane hunter reported birds were trapped in the eye, and NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft N42RF (Kermit) was forced to abort their flight after two eye penetrations into Melissa on Monday morning, after encountering extreme turbulence in the southwestern eyewall. This is only the fifth time I’m aware of that the NOAA Hurricane Hunters have had to abort a flight because of extreme turbulence (the others: Allen in 1980, Emily in 1987, Hugo in 1989, and Felix in 2007). I had the dubious honor of being the flight meteorologist on two of those flights, Emily in 1987 and Hugo in 1989.
Stay updated with the latest Climate news Read Article
