‘Hurricane Hunters’ up and flying

KEESLER AFB, Miss. - The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron - known as the “Hurricane Hunters” - spent last weekend flying weather reconnaissance missions into Tropical Storm Chris off North Carolina and Tropical Storm Beryl in the Caribbean Sea to gather data for the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The Keesler AFB, Miss., squadron began flying missions July 7. The squadron, the Defense Department’s only organization that flies weather reconnaissance, is expected to continue flying into TS Chris for the rest of the week, sending weather data by satellite communication to the NHC to improve their computer models that forecast movement and intensity. (Source: Keesler AFB 07/09/18) The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1 and runs through November.