Hugo: The Most Violent Flight in Hurricane History
NOAA hurricane hunters nearly became Hurricane Hugo's first victims in 1989, and we'll hear from Dr. Jeff Masters who was aboard that historic flight and Dr. Josh Wadler from Embry-Riddle who developed metrics confirming it remains the most turbulent hurricane hunter flight on record.
June 24, 2025
47 min
112
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110 of 157
Episode 112 · June 24, 2025
Hugo: The Most Violent Flight in Hurricane History
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The National Weather Desk Episodes Around June 24, 2025
Episode 110 of 157 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
47:04This episodeHugo: The Most Violent Flight in Hurricane History
Summary
In September 1989, NOAA hurricane hunters became the first to encounter Hurricane Hugo—and nearly became its first victims. Flying at 1,500 feet, they hit G-Forces in the Category 5 storm's eyewall, losing control of the aircraft nearly plunging it into the ocean.
The flight was so violent that some crew members never flew into another hurricane. Today we'll hear from Dr. Jeff Masters, the meteorologist who was on board that historic flight, then explore the science of measuring turbulence with Dr. Josh Wadler from Embry-Riddle, who has developed a metric to quantify how rough these flights get—and confirms this remains the most violent hurricane hunter flight on record.
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