What's in the Center of a Hurricane?
- tumblepodcast
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Have you ever wondered why the eyes of hurricanes are so calm? That's what Lydia wanted to know. To find out the answer, we called up Dr. Shirley Murillo, a meteorologist who studies hurricanes by flying right into them!
The data she collects from flying into hurricanes turns out to be vital to people on the ground, who use it to understand how severe a hurricane might be if it hits land. Shirley is motivated to learn as much as she can about these dangerous weather events so that people on the ground can learn what they need to do to prepare.
About Our Expert
Ever wondered who dares to fly straight into the heart of a hurricane? Meet Dr. Shirley Murillo, a fearless meteorologist at NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division. As Deputy Director, she doesn't just study hurricanes from afar—she boards special aircraft to gather vital data from inside these massive storms! Dr. Murillo leads the Hurricane Wind Analysis (H*Wind) team, creating real-time maps that help scientists understand storm strength and movement. She also bridges the gap between research and real-world forecasting through NOAA’s Joint Hurricane Testbed. Curious to learn more? Explore her work on NOAA’s website aoml.noaa.gov, dive into her scientific publications on Google Scholar and ResearchGate, and watch her share her journey in this STEM Role Model Live Event.
Shirley's Flights
If you listened to the episode, you heard all about Shirley's work aboard NOAA's Hurricane Hunter flights. The planes that Shirley describes that fly through the hurricane's eyewall storms are Lockheed WP-3D Orion hurricane hunter planes--specially designed for particularly dangerous flights like the ones Shirley goes on! NOAA operates two planes that fly missions like this--"Kermit" and "Miss Piggy."
In the early 1990s, the aircraft now known as "Miss Piggy" (N43RF) was in need of some improvements to its appearance. Greg Bast, a crew chief at NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center, along with flight engineer Steve Kirkpatrick, decided to give the plane a makeover. They humorously referred to the aircraft as "Miss Piggy," inspired by the Muppet character known for her attention to appearance. Bast even created a logo featuring Miss Piggy, which they used inside the aircraft and on their equipment.
Eventually, officials at NOAA reached out to Jim Henson Productions to find out if they could get permission to use the muppet characters in their art--and not only did they get a "yes," Henson Productions offered to make the nose art for the planes. What do you think of these images?
Do you think you could handle a hurricane flight?
In the episode, Marshall mentions that this kind of thing might lead to lots of barfing. Go ahead and watch this video--do you think you could handle being on a hurricane hunter flight?
