KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. — A U.S. Air Force Reserve crew with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the “Hurricane Hunters,” flew through Hurricane Melissa on Oct. 27, 2025, to collect vital meteorological data for the National Hurricane Center.

The video, captured by Lt. Col. Mark Withee, a navigator with the 53rd WRS, shows the crew making multiple passes through the storm’s powerful eye to gather real-time atmospheric readings. These missions provide critical information used to improve forecasts and track the storm’s intensity and trajectory.

Based at Keesler Air Force Base, the Hurricane Hunters are the only Department of Defense unit that routinely flies into tropical systems, delivering essential data that satellites cannot capture.

Source: DVIDS / U.S. Air Force