Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Just before Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday (August 29) as a dangerous Category 4 storm, the brave pilots with the NESDIS Ocean Winds Research team flew right into the eye of the storm.
Getting into the eye of the storm was not an easy task, as the high winds, which were around 150 mph, tossed the aircraft around like a toy. Lt. Cmdr. Doremus recorded a video inside the cockpit of the Hurricane Hunter aircraft, named Miss Piggy, as they flew through the storm.
"OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO - Flying into the eye of Category 4 Hurricane #Ida on NOAA WP-3D Orion #NOAA43 Miss Piggy during morning mission 08.29.21. Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Doremus, NOAA Corps. Visit noaa.gov/ida for NOAA event resources. #FlyNOAA"
After they cleared the clouds and entered the eye, the pilots captured stunning video off the wing of the aircraft. From their vantage point, the clouds looked eerily calm as they prepared to head back into the giant wall of storm clouds.
"Stunning video taken from inside the eye of #Ida this morning by the NESDIS Ocean Winds Research team during a flight on the @NOAA_HurrHunter P3 aircraft @NOAASatellites."
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio appor click HEREto tune in live.