MACON, Ga. — September is the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, and this year is expected to be an active one.
With potential many areas of development, specific data is crucial to diagnosing the status of the storm
Meteorologists nationwide rely on Hurricane Hunters to go into the storms and collect this data.
Hurricane Hunters provide a lot of information about a storm – but how are they even getting inside these storms?
They're flying a plane called a WC-130J .
It's a modified version of the C-130 plane that you might see dropping that red stuff on a fire out west.
These planes are really tough!
They can fly for longer periods of time, and they can really take a beating!
These airborne science missions are run by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance squadron which has been flying into storms since 1944.
In the cargo section of the plane, there are two different pallets of computer systems that take all of the data from the sensors on the plane's exterior to help determine what's going on inside the storm.
The hunters also drop these parachute-type sensors called Sondes – which float through the storm relaying info about a storms pressure, wind speed, and direction.
That information all comes together, gets processed, and is then shared through the National Hurricane Center for us to share with all of you.
Remember the 13 WMAZ Weather Team will always keep you up to date on all things tropics.