KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. — The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flew their last mission into Hurricane Milton Wednesday, their eighth missions into the storm since Sunday, collecting data to assist National Hurricane Center forecasters.

The storm formed from an area of low pressure in the western Gulf of Mexico, and rapidly strengthening from a tropical storm Oct. 5 to a Category 5 hurricane 24 hours later.

Milton made landfall Wednesday near Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 and weakened to a Category 1 as it made its way across the state today, according to the National Hurricane Center. Milton, the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, had wind gusts of 100 mph recorded near Tampa, and knocked out the power for more than 3 million people.

Milton is part of trend of rapid intensification in hurricanes such as Helene two weeks ago, the 4th deadliest storm to make landfall in the United States since 1950, and others such as Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, Ida, Ian and Idalia in past years. According to the NHC, “rapid intensification” is when the maximum sustained winds in a tropical cyclone increase at least 30 knots (34.5 mph) in 24 hours.

With less time to prepare for hurricanes such as Milton and Helene, advance preparation is key and the data the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron provides to NHC is vital, potentially saving lives and property, said Lt. Col. Brad Boudreaux, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot.

He was the pilot in command for the mission into Milton Tuesday that departed from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi at 2 p.m. During his mission the hurricane re-intensified from a category four to a category five, which made his first pass through the eyewall a rough ride, he said.

“They key to everything we do here is to narrow the cone of uncertainty,” said Boudreaux, explaining this is the most probable track of a storm. “Our job is to provide weather information to the National Hurricane Center so that they can provide the best forecast so people can prepare.”

While satellites provide information about a storm, they do not collect detailed observations, according to NHC. To get this information, NHC tasks the U.S. Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft to fly through the storm to collect data to improve forecasts and coordinate necessary watches and warnings for impacted communities.

During a tropical storm or hurricane, 53rd WRS aircrews fly a WC-130J Super Hercules through the eye of a storm at about 10,000 feet four to six times. During each pass through the eye, crews release dropsondes, which collects temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, and barometric pressure data. The crew also collects surface wind speed and flight-level data. This information is transmitted to the NHC to assist them with their storm warnings and hurricane forecast models in the Atlantic, Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

With their fleet of 10 WC-130Js, the 53rd WRS, works in conjunction with NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center. They use two types of aircraft for their missions, the WP-3D Orion and the Gulfstream GIV-SP. NOAA uses the WP-3D similarly to how the 53rd WRS uses the WC-130J, and the Gulfstream flies as high as 45,000 feet to collect data in the upper atmosphere surrounding developing hurricanes. The information they gather is used for track forecasting and research purposes.

“We provide a lot of effort to collect this data for NHC so they can provide accurate forecasts to give the public the most advanced warnings so they can prepare and get their families to safety as appropriate,” said Boudreaux. “It’s best for communities to prepare in advance for extreme weather, water, and climate events.”

For information visit www.ready.gov or weather.gov.