Hurricane Irene

Lt. Col. Darryl Woods, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot and aircraft commander, glances outside the cockpit as he flies toward Hurricane Irene August 27. Before the WC-130J aircraft arrived at Irene, the storm had already made landfall over the North Carolina coast. This was the Hurricane Hunters’ second-to-last flight into the storm before it pushed further north. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Labadens)