Traveling to and from the storm is pretty peaceful. But once you start to fly in and out of the bands of thunderstorms that spiral out from the center of a hurricane, it can get bouncy. It's a thick wall of clouds around the center, or eye, of the storm. Weather forecasters need to know how strong the winds are at the eye wall. The plane then enters the eye and radios the position of the storm's exact center.
Planes crisscross the eye to get data.
The 53rd isn't the only US government group to fly into storms. NOAA, which runs the National Hurricane Center, also has hurricane planes. They may fly at altitudes ranging from less than 1,000 feet up to 10,000 feet or higher. During a typical hurricane flight, a reconnaissance plane passes through the eye once every two hours. The storm's fastest winds are in the 'eye wall,' a thick band of clouds surrounding the storm's center.