Footage from an aircraft that flew into Hurricane Dorian’s eye on Sunday suggests meteorology is not for the faint-hearted.
Images and video captured from a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane show the towering walls of the Category 5 storm circling the aircraft.
Hurricane chaser Jordan Sun, who was onboard, wrote on Twitter that being inside a hurricane was “scary every time.”
The phenomenon seen in the footage is called the “stadium effect” ― resembling the view from inside a stadium.
On Sunday, evening, Hurricane Dorian violently thrashed the Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands, with the National Hurricane Center issuing warnings for “life-threatening situations.” They said wind gusts exceeded 220 mph and storm surge was between 18 to 23 feet above normal, and could cause “extreme destruction.”
The storm is forecasted to track toward the southeastern coast of the United States and is expected to remain a major hurricane through midweek.
Viewers on Twitter were horrified and impressed by the footage, with some hailing the meteorologists and pilots as either extremely brave or completely insane.