‘Hurricane Hunters’ track storm threatening their home

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ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Hurricane Ivan threatened their home, but that did not stop Air Force Reserve Command's "Hurricane Hunters." They kept tracking the Category 4 storm as it churned toward the Gulf Coast and Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.

The reservists from Keesler's 403rd Wing and their WC-130 aircraft stayed on the job, moving to Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., on Sept. 13 to continue flying hurricane missions.

Hurricane Ivan made landfall around 2 a.m. CDT on Sept. 16 with 130 mph winds near Gulf Shores, Ala. Gulf Shores is about 75 miles east of Keesler.

After a storm passes over land, the Hurricane Hunters stop collecting weather data, said Lt. Col. Mike Odom, wing public affairs chief.

"Our crews will continue to track Tropical Storm Jeanne," he said. "They will return to Keesler as soon as possible to launch missions from there."

Aircrews in the wing's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron usually fly into the storm at about 10,000 feet above the ocean's surface. During the missions, the aircraft crisscross the hurricane and release small dropsonde canisters. Dropped by parachute, these free-floating sensors provide the most accurate measurements of the storm's location and intensity. The canisters relay details about barometric pressure, wind speed and direction and other details to the aircraft during their descent until they hit the water. After checking the data, the crews forward the information to the National Hurricane Center.

This is not the first time a hurricane has sent the Hurricane Hunters to another roost. Six years ago, they flew their planes to Ellington Field, Texas, before Hurricane Georges struck Biloxi, Miss., with 105 mph winds. (Courtesy of AFRC News Service)