Video: Hurricane Hunters tossed by turbulence while flying into eye of Hurricane Melissa

Published October 31, 2025 10:32 AM EDT

Hurricane Hunters entered the eye of Hurricane Melissa to collect critical data that helps improve forecasts and research, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The backstory:

Footage released on Wednesday shows a flight crew experiencing intense turbulence as they collected data from the eye of the store as it swept across the Caribbean Sea.

READ: Hurricane Melissa death toll climbs after massive storm rips through Caribbean

The NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center captured video aboard its Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, Kermit, as it was buffeted by winds near the storm’s eye.

Dig deeper:

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28 as a Category 5 storm. The storm came ashore again in Cuba early Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, and also caused damage in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The Source: Information for this story was collected from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Storyful and previous FOX 13 News coverage.

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