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The U.S. Air Force has released an incredible footage showing one of its aircraft slicing through the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa to collect vital meteorological data for the National Hurricane Center as the storm churns toward Jamaica. Carried out on October 27, by the elite 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS), also known as the “Hurricane Hunters”, the mission offered a rare glimpse into the core of what scientists have called the world’s strongest storm of 2025. The video, captured by Lt. Col. Mark Withee, a navigator with the WRS, showed the crew making a pass through the storm and recording breathtaking visuals, including the striking stadium effect. This rare phenomenon is observed in strong tropical cyclones. It occurs when the hurricane’s walls curve outward with height, forming a shape that resembles the tiers of a sports arena when viewed from above. Chasing the hurricane The aircraft entered the eye of the storm from the southeast shortly after sunrise, passing through thick gray clouds with limited visibility. The video shows sunlight breaking through as the circular eye wall becomes visible, with clouds rotating rapidly around a calm center. Meanwhile, flashes of lightning can be seen illuminating the structure at intervals, while rough ocean conditions below demonstrate the intensity of the Category 5 hurricane. One of the crew members, a US Air Force Hurricane Hunter, known on the social media platform X by the username @FlynonymousWX or “Tropical Cowboy of Danger,” shared live updates during the mission. “We are entering from the southeast just after sunrise, and the bright arc on the far northwest eye wall is the light just beginning to make it over the top from behind us,” he said in one of the posts. In an X post on October 28, the crew said they were returning to their forward operating base in Curaçao after experiencing severe turbulence while navigating through the center of the storm. “During the event, the aircraft briefly experience forces stronger than normal due to turbulence,” the crew said. “While this does not automatically indicate damage, standard safety procedures require an inspection before returning to operations.” A Category 5 threat With sustained winds reaching 183 miles per hour (295 kilometers per hour), Hurricane Melissa has become the most powerful storm of the year and is on track to become the strongest to threaten Jamaica in more than 170 years. According to the New York Times, the Category 5 hurricane is expected to make landfall later today, Tuesday, October 28, with authorities warning of torrential rain, severe flooding and storm surges reaching up to 13 feet along the island’s southern coast. The National Hurricane Center warned that the combination of extreme wind, rainfall exceeding 40 inches in some regions, and widespread landslides would cause “life-threatening” conditions across the Caribbean. The BBC reported that more than 240,000 Jamaican homes have lost power as the government opened over 6,000 shelters and issued mandatory evacuation orders for coastal and flood-prone areas. “Don’t bet against Melissa because you will lose,” Desmond McKenzie, Jamaican Government Minister said. The storm has taken the lives of at least seven people across the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic, where another person remains missing. This is one of the storms of the century and I believe the global community will come together to respond collectively,” Anne-Claire Fontan, the World Meteorological Organization’s tropical cyclone specialist said in a press release.
