Photos

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft is prepared to fly Tropical Storm Cristobal from Keesler Air Force Base, Missippi, June, 5, 2020. The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron were tasked to fly a fixed mission to locate the center of Cristobal and the data gathered was sent to the National Hurricane Center for their weather model forecasts. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, or Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, takeoff today for a storm mission into Tropical Depression Three located in the Bay of Campeche. The mission originally scheduled as an invest became a fix mission before departing. The 53rd WRS will gather weather data and send it to the National Hurricane Center which helps to improve their computer models that forecast movement and intensity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jessica L. Kendziorek)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Lt. Col. Ryan Rickert, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aerial reconnaissance weather officer, talks live via Skype with the host and participants of the National Tropical Weather Conference May 21, 2020, at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. Rickert was accompanied by Capt. Garret Black, 53rd WRS ARWO, online to explain the Hurricane Hunter mission, their experiences flying storms, and the importance of being prepared for hurricane season. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron takes off May 16, at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The Hurricane Hunters departed today on their first storm tasking of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season to investigate an area for possible development into a tropical depression or storm near the Bahamas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron sit on the flightline May 16, at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The Hurricane Hunters departed today on their first storm tasking of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season to investigate an area for possible development into a tropical depression or storm near the Bahamas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft from 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron taxis to the runway May 16, at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The Hurricane Hunters departed today on their first storm tasking of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season to investigate an area for possible development into a tropical depression or storm near the Bahamas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

The 403rd Wing's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, flew by Singing River Health System, Pascagoula, May 5, 2020, as part of the "Hercs for Heroes" tribute to all the healthcare workers, first responders and essential personnel battling the spread of COVID-19. The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters also flew by Highland Community Hospital, Picayune, Ochsner Medical Center-Hancock, Bay Saint Louis and the USS Tripoli (LHA 7) at Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula before heading back to Keesler AFB. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Marnee A.C. Losurdo)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Tech. Sgt. Larry Banks, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron loadmaster, prepares to drop a simulated buoy from a WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft March 19, 2020, off the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The Hurricane Hunters train all year to maintain readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Larry Banks)

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Ashley Lundry, a flight director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunters in Lakeland Fla., stands in front of a Lockheed WP-3D Orion at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Nov. 13, 2019. Lundry is also an aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters." (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kristen Pittman)

SAN DIEGO

From left to right: Maj. Grant Wagner, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron navigator, F. Martin Ralph, principal investigator for the Atmospheric River Recon program and director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes and Lt Col. Ryan Rickert, 53rd WRS aerial weather reconnaissance officer, work on a flight plan for the next atmospheric river mission Jan. 30 at San Diego, Calif. The Hurricane Hunters are slated to perform “AR recon” from January through March. Scientists led by Scripps at University of California, in partnership with the 53rd WRS, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Aviation’s National Weather Service, NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, will be on standby to fly through these ARs over the Pacific to gather data to improve forecasts. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Carranza)

PHOTOS

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