Riders of the Storm

Hurricane Hunter aircraft in the eye of Felix

You need to check out this awesome video of a flight by the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft into the eye of Hurricane Felix as a Category 5 before it made landfall in Mexico. http://www.airshowbuzz.com/videos/view.php?v=9f061057

Another worthy note from Hurricane Felix, the flight just prior to the one above was in a NOAA P-3 Orion Hurricane Hunter airplane N42RF (AKA "The Princess"). It had a wild ride in Hurricane Felix on September 2 as it intensified into a Category 5 storm. The airplane hit what the Hurricane Hunters fear most, a powerful updraft followed a few seconds later by an equally powerful downdraft. The resulting extreme turbulence and wind shear likely made the aircraft impossible to control. This very likely pushed the aircraft to its limits. The aircraft commander wisely aborted the mission and returned safely to their base in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.The airplane was out of commission for the next day, however, the aircraft later passed a detailed six-hour inspection to look for damage, and has been cleared to fly again.

• A Smog Advisory has been issued for Leeds/Grenville in eastern Ontario. Southwest winds are bringing hot, humid and polluted latent air into our area. It was over 30C today with humidex readings well into the 30's. Tomorrow will be evn warmer before a cool down on Friday.