American scientists aboard a hurricane hunter aircraft witness the “stadium effect” within one of the strongest hurricanes on the planet.
The Hurricane Hunter team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flew directly into the eye of Hurricane Irma, one of the most dangerous storms on Earth. A new video shared by NOAA yesterday revealed the dramatic scenes inside the storm as it approached the United States, according to the New York Times.
Eye of Hurricane Irma in satellite image. (Photo: NOAA).
Equipped with a range of scientific instruments, the research aircraft faced the hurricane head-on. The only sound the crew could hear inside the plane was the rumble of the engines. The Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft used by the research team has four turbocharged engines, providing the power necessary to withstand the strongest winds. An external radar combined with sensors for air pressure, temperature, and humidity allows meteorologists to model the storm.
The NOAA storm research team captured the “stadium effect” of the Category 5 hurricane. The eye of the storm appears like a sports arena dome, with a smaller opening looking directly down onto the “stadium” below. Outside the clear central dome are the most ferocious winds, with speeds reaching at least 300 km/h on the afternoon of September 5. As the pilot approached closer to the storm’s circulation, visibility decreased, the clouds darkened, and the aircraft shook violently.
Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall in the United States, devastating the southeastern coastline, primarily Florida, on September 10, just days after the southern part of the country faced disaster from Hurricane Harvey. Authorities are conducting evacuations in areas that may be directly affected by Hurricane Irma.
