The view from the eye of Hurricane Ian is not one most people will ever experience first hand. Photo: Nick Underwood//NOAA
Hurricane Ian is a big freaking storm. Two million homes without power. Winds up to 150 miles per hour. Storm surges filling streets. Hotels booked solid, filled with people fleeing the chaos, windows boarded over, hatches well-battened. Not a storm most people want to be around for — unless those people are with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hurricane Hunters. Those people want to be in a plane flying directly into the eye of it.
The Hurricane Hunters aren’t just flying any ol’ plane, of course. They’re full of gadgets to record as much information from the storm as possible, but to get some of that information, they need to be right in the belly of the beast. The belly of the beast is a violent place, especially when it comes to Hurricane Ian. Nick Underwood, a Hurricane Hunter and aerospace engineer — possibly the coolest job title one can have — posted a few videos and photos to his Twitter that show just how violent it was.
When I say this was the roughest flight of my career so far, I mean it. I have never seen the bunks come out like that. There was coffee everywhere. I have never felt such lateral motion.
Aboard Kermit (#NOAA42) this morning into Hurricane #Ian. Please stay safe out there. https://t.co/DQwqBwAE6v pic.twitter.com/gvV7WUJ6aS
— Tropical Nick Underwood (@TheAstroNick) September 28, 2022
Their plane, affectionately called “Kermit,” flies between 8,000 and 10,000 feet above the ocean sucking up data while trying not to plummet into the sea. The team also throws little devices into the storm, which send information back to them as they drop.
In the last six years, Underwood has flown into 76 hurricanes. While none of them have been smooth, he said that Hurricane Ian was the most violent he’s ever experienced. “When I say this was the roughest flight of my career so far,” he said, “I mean it. I have never seen the bunks come out like that. There was coffee everywhere. I have never felt such lateral motion.”
Hurricane Ian made landfall on Wednesday at a Category 4 storm. It hit the southwestern Coast, close to Cayo Costa, with sustained windspeed of 150 mph, just 7 miles per hour short of a category 5 storm.
Hurricane Ian, thankfully, was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday morning, but it’s still packing a hell of a punch. Central Florida was hit with torrential rainfall and winds strong enough to down trees. Homes and streets are flooded, and the death toll is unclear.
“The numbers are still unclear,” said President Biden, “but we’re hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life.”
The President has spoken with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and said that the federal government will cover 100 percent of the cost to clean up the catastrophic mess as well as the majority of the cost of rebuilding public buildings such as schools and fire stations.
“Early this morning, I approved the governor’s most recent request for an expedited major disaster declaration,” Biden said. “That means the federal government will cover 100 percent of the cost to clear debris, and for all the costs the state has to engage in and expand to save lives.”
