Captain Kelly Soich (left), 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron navigator, reviews fuel consumption data with Lt. Col. Malcolm Shannon (standing) and Lt. Col. David Price, 53rd WRS navigators. This is one aspect of mission planning the navigators undertake before flying a storm mission with the Hurricane Hunters. Share

The sun rises just as the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance "Hurricane Hunters," make their third pass through the eye of Category 1 Hurricane Bill Aug. 23 near Nova Scotia, Canada. The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters of the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss fly 24-hours-a-day, collecting data inside the heart of Mother Nature's fury (U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Tanya King) Share

Air Force Reservist Tech. Sgt. Troy Bickham loads a dropsonde in the launch chute just before the WC-130J penetrates Hurricane Bill Aug. 22. Sergeant Bickham is a weather reconnaissance loadmaster assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters," which is part of the 403rd Wing located at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. This particular mission was the last flight through Hurricane Bill, which was a Category 1 at the time of the flight. Share

Air Force Reservist Lt. Col. Rich Harter, Aerial Reconnaissance Weather Officer with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron located at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., continuously monitors weather data on a WC-130J during a flight through Hurricane Bill Aug. 22. The 53rd WRS "Hurricane Hunters" provide surveillance of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the central Pacific Ocean for the National Hurricane Center in Miami. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Tanya King) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.-Senior Airman Jenna Daniel, loadmaster with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Keesler AFB, Miss. explains to a group of civil air patrollers how the Hurricane Hunters launch a dropsonde . The dropsonde is the tool Hurricane Hunters use to gather weather data when flying through storms. The group of civil air patrollers joined the Hurricane Hunters on a training mission May 20. (U.S. Air Force Photo by 2nd Lt. Joe Simms) Share

Master Sgt. Paul Wood, 403rd Maintenance Squadron, presents a laptop to Junia Straker, chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services, at the Queen Louise Home in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Members from the 403rd Wing collect donations throughout the year for the home and fly them down on a space-available basis when the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flies to their forward operating location in St. Croix during hurricane season. Share

Master Sgt. Jeff Stack, weather reconnaissance loadmaster, explains how the dropsonde collects weather information inside storms to Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz. The dropsonde is a 'weather station in a can,' collecting life-saving data inside the storm. The data collected by the Air Force Reservists of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters" improves the National Hurricane Center forecast by 30 percent. The Reserve Hurricane Hunters are the only Department of Defense unit to fly into hurricanes. General Schwartz is visiting Mississippi to speak at the 30th annual Salute to the Military, an event honoring the Airmen and Citizen Airmen of the Gulf Coast region. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Major Chad E. Gibson) Share

Even bad weather can sometimes be beautiful. Staff Sgt. Shannon Smith, weather reconnaissance loadmaster, takes a photo of a spectacular sunset after flying a mission into Hurricane Ike. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett) Share

At the end of the day, the sun sets as this WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft makes its way back to its home at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. after flying into Hurricane Ike. The Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron are one of two flying squadrons assigned to Air Force Reserve Command's 403rd Wing. The Hunter's sister squadron, the 815th Airlift Squadron have been called on to support releif efforts after the storm. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett) Share

An emergency call from Air Force Rescue requested support from the Hurricane Hunters in finding a person who fell overboard without a life raft into the Gulf of Mexico. The Air Force Reserve's Hurricane Hunters are fequently called on to support rescue efforts in tropical weather because they are usually the only aircraft near the scene. Capt. Kaitlyn McLaughlin, flight meterologist, as well as the rest of the crew visually scanned the surface for any signs of the missing boater. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett) Share

Directing the flight into Hurricane Ike, Capt. Kaitlyn McLaughlin, aerial reconnaissance weather officer, works closely with the National Hurricane Center as well as coordinating on the aircraft with pilots and the navigator aboard the WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett) Share

On-air meteorologist, Todd Youcobian (right), interviews Maj. Jeff Ragusa, a pilot with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. The major was one of the pilots onboard a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter aircraft which flew into Ike yesterday. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett) Share