Hurricane Melissa is shaping up to be a huge storm...even the Air Force Reserve’s elite 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, aka the “Hurricane Hunters”, were forced to abort a mission into the eye of Hurricane Melissa after encountering “forces stronger than normal.” The crew, flying their specialized WC-130J Super Hercules, was collecting data for the National Hurricane Center when severe turbulence forced a retreat back to base in Curaçao for safety inspections. It marked the second consecutive day that the Hurricane Hunters had to pull out early. . Despite the turbulence, aircrews did manage to accomplish multiple daring flights through Melissa’s 10-nautical-mile-wide eye—swipe left for imagery from the flights captured by Lt. Col. Mark Withee, a navigator with the 53rd WRS during the mission. . Hurricane Melissa officially reached Category 5 status yesterday (Oct 27), with sustained winds of 175 mph (280 km/h)—making it the strongest hurricane of 2025...likely to bring catastrop...