The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aircraft Operations Centre has released dramatic footage showing a research aircraft battling severe turbulence while flying directly into Hurricane Milton. 

The video, captured from the passenger side window of "Miss Piggy," a Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, shows the plane navigating through a turbulent gray sky, pounded by intense rainfall.

In a post on X, the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center described the flight as a 'bumpy ride into Hurricane Milton on NOAA WP-3D Orion.” The agency explained that the mission was aimed at gathering critical data to improve hurricane forecasting and contribute to ongoing research efforts. The aircraft carried a team of at least four NOAA researchers.

The footage shows Electrical Engineer Tom Brannigan at the AVAPS (Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System) workstation as the plane shakes violently. Amidst the loud turbulence, a plastic bag tied to a shelf spins and spills its contents onto the floor. “Can you grab my phone real quick?” asks Programs Integration Engineer Nick Underwood, who was filming the intense flight.

The Lockheed WP-3D Orion, manufactured in the mid-1970s, was tasked with measuring key components of Hurricane Milton, including the storm's centre, central pressure, and surface winds around the eye. 

Susan Buchanan, the National Weather Service's director of public affairs, told USA Today that these missions help provide crucial data for tracking the storm’s location, strength, and speed, aiding meteorologists in generating accurate forecasts.

Hurricane Milton was predicted to make landfall on Florida's west coast, near Tampa, late Wednesday night. However, forecasters cautioned that even within 24 hours of expected landfall, pinpointing the exact location remains challenging. The US National Hurricane Center warned that Milton could become one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for the west-central Florida region.

Agencies