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  • Winter operations begin for 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron

    Before the hurricane season had even ended, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron experienced their first taste of winter operations.While they’re known for their mission supporting the National Hurricane Operations Plan which involves flying into – not around, not over – severe tropical systems

  • Hurricane Hunters fly Franklin, Idalia

    After Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall Aug. 20 on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s hurricane hunters began flying storms in both the Atlantic and the Caribbean.

  • Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour 2023

    The 403rd Wing’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron recently completed the Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour, in which the public had the opportunity to learn about the aerial weather reconnaissance mission and the importance of being prepared for the upcoming hurricane season.

  • Hurricane Hunters continue flying Fiona

    The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters continue to fly the storm while it remains a threat to land.The squadron began flying the storm after moving to their forward operating location in Curacao, Sept. 15, when the system was just a tropical storm.

  • Hurricane Awareness Tour Returns

    Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron participated in the first Hurricane Awareness Tour since 2019. The HAT took place during National Hurricane Preparedness Week with the purpose of promoting hurricane preparedness and awareness before the 2022 hurricane season begins.

  • Reservist chased a dream; now chases hurricanes

    Nearly three decades after the fact, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Amaryllis Cotto can still vividly remember Hurricane Andrew. The shrill screech of a woman screaming for her life outside.Windows breaking.Walls vibrating.Running across the street to seek shelter with neighbors as her own family’s house

  • Hurricane Hunters fly first missions of winter season

    The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., flew a system from its time as a swath of water vapor moving over the Pacific Ocean to the wintry conditions it delivered across the United States, marking the unit’s first atmospheric

  • Hurricane Hunters wrap up 2021 season; brace for winter ops

    After a historically busy Atlantic hurricane season in 2020, the Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron Hurricane Hunters at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., were gifted a relative reprieve, though still an above average hurricane season this year.Today marked the end of the Atlantic