Hurricane Hunter Meets Milton

How cool is this video of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “Hurricane Hunter”?

I didn’t even know this thing existed, so of course I had to look it up. It’s a Lockheed WP-3D Orion. She’s called Miss Piggy. (There's another plane called Kermit. Too perfect.)

Love everything about them. Read more about them here:

Lockheed WP-3D Orion | Office of Marine and Aviation Operations

NOAA’s two Lockheed WP-3D Orion “Hurricane Hunters” play a key role in collecting data vital to tropical cyclone research and forecasting. These highly-capable four-engine turboprops also support a wide variety of atmospheric and air chemistry missions.

Office of Marine and Aviation Operations National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Department of Commerce

They’re flying into Hurricane Milton, which is shaping up to be one of the worst storms Florida has seen in a quite a while.

Milton Is the Hurricane That Scientists Were Dreading

Climate change set up the Gulf of Mexico to birth a storm this strong, this fast.

The AtlanticZoë Schlanger

The lede from the Atlantic story tells you all you need to know:

As Hurricane Milton exploded from a Category 1 storm into a Category 5 storm over the course of 12 hours yesterday, climate scientists and meteorologists were stunned. NBC6’s John Morales, a veteran TV meteorologist in South Florida, choked up on air while describing how quickly and dramatically the storm had intensified. To most people, a drop in pressure of 50 millibars means nothing; a weatherman understands, as Morales said mid-broadcast, that “this is just horrific.”