KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron departs Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Oct. 21, 2022. The squadron is tasked with flying 12-hourly fix missions into Tropical Storm Roslyn until the system makes landfall. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron departs Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., Oct. 21, 2022. The squadron supports weather reconnaissance year-round in tropical cyclones, winter storms, and atmospheric rivers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flies in the eye of Hurricane Ian Sept. 27, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Maj. Forrest Heintz, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot, left, and Maj. Kendall Dunn, pilot and aircraft commander, fly into Hurricane Ian Sept. 28, 2022.The 53rd WRS, also known as the U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, have flown 14 missions into Ian since Sept. 21, 2022, to gather vital weather data for use in National Hurricane Center forecasts. The unit is assigned to the 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and the unit is the only one of its kind in the Department of Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Maj. Forrest Heintz, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot, left, and Maj. Kendall Dunn, pilot and aircraft commander, fly into Hurricane Ian Sept. 28, 2022.The 53rd WRS, also known as the U.S. Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, have flown 14 missions into Ian since Sept. 21, 2022, to gather vital weather data for use in National Hurricane Center forecasts. The unit is assigned to the 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and the unit is the only one of its kind in the Department of Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lt. Col. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter WC-130J Super Hercules crew prepares for take off Sept. 28, 2022, for a mission into Hurricane Ian. The unit flew weather reconnaissance missions around the clock from Sept. 21 to 29, 2022 into Hurricane Ian to gather vital weather data for National Hurricane Center forecasts. The Hurricane Hunters, or 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, are a unit in the 403rd Wing, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lt. Col. Marnee A.C. Losurdo) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Lt. Col. Dave Gentile, WC-130J aircraft commander, and Maj. Alex Boykin, pilot, fly a 53rd Weather Reconnaissance aircraft into Hurricane Ian Sept. 27, 2022. The 53rd WRS, or Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, fly missions into hurricanes to collect data for forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Capt. Davis White, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aerial reconnaissance weather officer, monitors a radar screen during a flight into Hurricane Ian Sept. 27, 2022. The 53rd WRS, or Hurricane Hunters, fly missions into hurricanes to collect data for forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

Lt. Col. Stephen Pituch, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron commander and WC-130J Super Hercules pilot at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., prepares for takeoff June 2, 2022. The 53rd WRS flew its first data collection mission of the Atlantic hurricane season into Invest 91L off the Yucatan Peninsula. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kristen Pittman) Share

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss.

A WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., takes off June 2, 2022. The 53rd WRS flew its first data collection mission of the Atlantic hurricane season into Invest 91L off the Yucatan Peninsula. (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.

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