A crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron departed Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi to collect data directly from inside the tropical system.
The U.S. Air Force Reserve’s Hurricane Hunters carried out a reconnaissance mission directly into Tropical Storm Edouard on September 1, 2026.
The operation was conducted by personnel from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a unit specialized in flying into tropical cyclones to gather atmospheric data that is difficult to obtain with the same level of precision using satellites or ground-based sensors alone.
Source and footage: U.S. Air Force / Staff Sgt. Stacey Thornburg
