53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” prepare for 2025 season

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - In 2024, the hurricane hunters flew over 100 missions and are preparing for the start of the season on June 1st.

The start of the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season is just a few weeks away, and the men and women who risk their lives and work around the clock during severe weather are getting ready to fly.

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base is a one-of-a-kind organization.

A component of the 403rd Wing, the Hurricane Hunters are made up of 40 pilots, 20 navigators, and weather officers, flying WC-130s directly into the eye of hurricanes and other severe storms.

For the last 80 years, the hurricane hunters have patrolled the skies during severe weather events, tracking each one’s intensity and its path.

“The data that we are gathering is sent back in real time to the forecasters and it goes into the weather prediction models so that it improves those models and both the track and intensity and them emergency managers can take action on that and let all of you know when it’s time to evacuate, when you have to hunker down and where the storm is headed.” Captain Amanda Nelson, a flight meteorologist, says.

For the last decade, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Whithee has worked as a navigator through some of the most severe storms as they gather information for the National Hurricane Center.

In the last ten years, Whithee says he has seen how technological advancements can assist in their storm preparation.

“We have iPads now that have a digital flight bag, and we can also use the weather resources that are available via the iPad. Over the water, we can’t get live data in real time, but we can download a significant amount of information before we go fly that we can use to reference as we fly,” Lieutenant Colonel Mark Whithee, a 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Navigator, says.

An upcoming addition to the tech on the planes will be a game changer for getting data back quickly for the 2025 season.

“We’re getting broadband internet on the aircrafts so that way we will be able to share what our radar presentation is in real time with the national weather service in Miami because those forecasters can tell a lot more about the storm if they can see what’s going on in real time” Lieutenant Colonel Sean Cross, Chief of Public Safety and 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Pilot says.

Lieutenant Colonel Cross also says that the work doesn’t stop when the Atlantic Hurricane season wraps up on November 30th, and says his team will move onto their winter operations.

Colorado State University forecasters predict 17 named storms for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

In 2024, the hunters flew over 107 missions, into 12 of the 18 named storms, and are ready to go when the 2025 hurricane season begins on June 1st.

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