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inside the storm's eye, which is always calm and surreal, the crew's radio operator relayed pages of weather data to Fleet Weather Center and the National Hurricane Center. Shortly after the last page was sent, the crew was informed that the once unknown tropical storm had been given the name Camille. Hurricane Camille was tracking north, heading for Cuba. If it remained on its current track, it would likely strike the gulf coast of the United States within a few days.

However, for these Hurricane Hunters, it was time to head for their next assignment: Hurricane Debbie and Project Stormfury. Hurricane Debbie was moving towards Florida and was ideally suited for the long anticipated weather control experiment. Project Stormfury, however, would prove to be an unsuccessful attempt to alter the anatomy of a hurricane by seeding it with silver-iodine. Observing the effects of the experiment from inside the eye of Hurricane Debbie, Crew 2 found themselves facing many new, unexpected challenges, but that's another story.

As 1969 progressed, Crew 2 made acquaintance with three more divine ladies of the sea: hurricanes named Inga, Kara, and Lori were unique encounters with love in all the wrong places, to borrow a phrase from Waylon Jennings' country song. The truth about Hurricane Hunters is that they love the anatomy of a hurricane and the chase that goes on to this day.

Note: The Navy's Hurricane Hunter Squadron, VW-4 was decommissioned in 1975 after thirty years of exemplary service. Today, the Airforce's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and NOAA bravely continue fly hurricane reconnaissance missions.

Learn more about this author, Francis Jock.
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