ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I

1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto, aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., speaks to a crowd at Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., April 20, 2022. Members of St. Thomas’s port authority, Civil Air Patrol, U.S.V.I. Police Department, and other first responders were in attendance for the 2022 National Hurricane Center’s Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I.

1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto, aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., speaks to a crowd at Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., April 20, 2022. Members of St. Thomas’s port authority, Civil Air Patrol, U.S.V.I. Police Department, and other first responders were in attendance for the 2022 National Hurricane Center’s Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I.

1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto, aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., speaks to Alli Bourne-Vanneck of USVI News at Cyril E. King Airport, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., April 20, 2022. The interview took place during a stop on the 2022 Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour which is an opportunity for members of the 53rd WRS and National Hurricane Center to speak about hurricane preparedness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

SAN JUAN, P.R.

Capt. Dwight Manganaro, pilot for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., takes a picture with local students at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 21, 2022. The visit to Puerto Rico was part of a Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour in tandem with the National Hurricane Center to spread the message of hurricane preparedness to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto, aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., speaks to Roberto Cortes, a reporter with Telemeundo Puerto Rico, at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 21, 2022. The visit to Puerto Rico was part of a Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour in tandem with the National Hurricane Center to spread the message of hurricane preparedness to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Maj. Joyce K. Hirai, is an aerial reconnaissance weather officer with the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, a 403rd Wing unit at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The Hurricane Hunters provide weather data from the storm to improve National Hurricane Center forecasts. Hirai also works as an International Space Station flight controller in operations planning as a contractor for NASA. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto, aerial reconnaissance weather officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., looks at atmospheric data collected during a flight into Hurricane Ida Aug. 27, 2021. The data collected helps forecasters better predict the path of a tropical system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Senior Airman Donny Arseneaux, a loadmaster for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., deploys an Airborne Expendable Bathythermograph from a WC-130J Aug. 5, 2021. The AXBT measures ocean temperature from surface level down to to around 400 meters. (U.S. Air Force by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A 53rd Weather Reconnaisance Squadron aircrew flies into Hurricane Douglas, July 24, 2020, to collect weather data to assist the Central Pacific Hurricane Center with their forecasts. Share

ST. CROIX, US. VI

After the last flight into Hurricane Sam, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron returned to their forward operation location in the St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Oct 2, 2021. This location is used to operate 24 hours a day for storms that are located in the Atlantic Ocean that are not within reach of Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Tauston Jackson) Share

ST. CROIX, US. VI

Inside the eye of Hurricane Sam, members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron collect weather data. The data is sent to the National Hurricane Center, which is used to improve the forecast models and help people prepare. (U.S. Air Force photo by Maj. Joyce Hirai) Share

ST. CROIX, US. VI

Members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron takeoff for Hurricane Sam to gather weather data for the National Hurricane Center, Sept. 28, 2021. The weather data is collected and sent to the NHC in order to ensure more accurate and up-to-date forecasts and models of the storms. (U.S. Air Force photo by Jessica L. Kendziorek) Share