How Much Courage Does It Take to be a Hurricane Hunter?

When hurricanes approach, meteorologists at the National Weather Service warn of the storm’s likely path. Sometimes they are right; sometimes they are wrong. Storms, after all, aren’t completely predictable in terms of their path and intensity.

As people who live in the likely path of the storm take precautions, another group of individuals get ready to fly directly into the storm. They are known as “Hurricane Hunters.”

In this image, NOAA (the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) gives us an artist’s rendering of a NOAA P-3 N42RF Hurricane Hunter. We can see the plane within the eye of a storm.

What kind of courage would it take to do such a dangerous and scary job? Would a career in this field interest you? Why, or why not?

What is the scariest thing that ever happened to you? How do you think that compares to being a Hurricane Hunter?