A powerful hurricane is moving toward the East Coast of the United States. While most people are trying to flee the path of the storm, a group of scientists is flying directly into it! The flight is a roller coaster ride. Violent winds toss the plane like a Frisbee™, slamming it down toward the ocean and then flinging it skyward. One of the scientists onboard is Jason Dunion, a research meteorologist with NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division. Working with NOAA, Jason has flown many hurricane-hunter missions like this one.

Hurricane-hunter flights are a dramatic way of learning about hurricanes. The flights typically last about ten hours, during which time the airplane crosses the storm many times. The information collected provides a detailed picture of the storm’s structure and conditions, including wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and precipitation. This data is fed into computer programs that predict the hurricane’s path and strength.

As a scientist, Jason Dunion is trying to solve the problems of understanding hurricanes. One of the most intriguing problems is why some strong hurricanes suddenly and unpredictably lose strength in spite of what the computer models forecast. Jason thinks that the answer may lie in a layer of hot, dry, and dusty air.

Strap in for a mission that will have you exploring the dynamics of hurricanes. With the Argonaut team, you’ll investigate how hurricanes form, intensify, and decay.