4 ms·

Flying through a hurricane sounds dangerous, but it's actually not much different than flying normally and is perfectly safe. Planes are very resistant to hori

Flying through a hurricane sounds dangerous, but it's actually not much different than flying normally and is perfectly safe. Planes are very resistant to horizontal wind, which is all a hurricane is.

lberger 9y ago
Take off and landing are especially dangerous in a hurricane; where wind gusts can exceed a difference of 50 knots.
mannykannot 9y ago
Flying into a hurricane involves a lot more than just horizontal wind. There's convection, turbulence, wind shear and heavy precipitation. It is not uncommon for hurricanes to spawn tornadoes. NOAA has been flying aircraft into hurricanes since the 1950s. It is not inordinately dangerous, but it is not just another flight, either. https://www.wunderground.com/resources/education/hugo1.asp https://www.wunderground.com/resources/education/hugo1.asp
wahern 9y ago
You might be overselling your point with "perfectly safe". Extreme vertical winds are not uncommon in hurricanes. See https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/108766.pdf With some quick Googling, I get the sense that while people cite hurricane hunters, they gloss over important bits, But what does get interesting is flying through the hurricane's rainbands and the eyewall. -- http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/H3.html In particular, rainbands occur all throughout a hurricane. You can't really fly through a hurricane and not fly through these. I'm not an aviator but I grew up in Florida and have experienced several hurricanes. I get your point about hurricanes being mostly horizontal winds and why thunderstorms are much more dangerous. (I appreciate your post because it motivated me to learn more :) But hurricanes are immense, and immensely powerful. The size and energy drive all manner of dangerous phenomena. For example, growing up in Florida we were worried less about the hurricane, per se, than the many tornados they often spawned.

lberger 9y ago

Take off and landing are especially dangerous in a hurricane; where wind gusts can exceed a difference of 50 knots.

mannykannot 9y ago

Flying into a hurricane involves a lot more than just horizontal wind. There's convection, turbulence, wind shear and heavy precipitation. It is not uncommon for hurricanes to spawn tornadoes. NOAA has been flying aircraft into hurricanes since the 1950s. It is not inordinately dangerous, but it is not just another flight, either. https://www.wunderground.com/resources/education/hugo1.asp https://www.wunderground.com/resources/education/hugo1.asp

wahern 9y ago

You might be overselling your point with "perfectly safe". Extreme vertical winds are not uncommon in hurricanes. See https://ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/108766.pdf With some quick Googling, I get the sense that while people cite hurricane hunters, they gloss over important bits, But what does get interesting is flying through the hurricane's rainbands and the eyewall. -- http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/H3.html In particular, rainbands occur all throughout a hurricane. You can't really fly through a hurricane and not fly through these. I'm not an aviator but I grew up in Florida and have experienced several hurricanes. I get your point about hurricanes being mostly horizontal winds and why thunderstorms are much more dangerous. (I appreciate your post because it motivated me to learn more :) But hurricanes are immense, and immensely powerful. The size and energy drive all manner of dangerous phenomena. For example, growing up in Florida we were worried less about the hurricane, per se, than the many tornados they often spawned.