TS Maria

Lt. Col. Warren Madden, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron aerial reconnaissance weather officer, looks over some paperwork to help monitor the weather as the aircrew prepares to fly into Tropical Storm Maria Sept. 9. The Hurricane Hunters were completing the mission from operations held in St. Croix. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)

TS Maria

Master Sgt. Scott Blair, a weather reconnaissance loadmaster with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, checks the computer before preparing to release a parachute-borne sensor known as a dropsonde into Tropical Storm Maria Sept. 9. The dropsonde measures and encodes weather data down to the ocean surface. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)

TS Maria

Christian D'Andrea, executive producer with Story Foundry and Andy McDonald, senior videographer with High Noon Entertainment stand with Lt. Col. Dave Borsi, 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron pilot, and Maria, a resident of St. Croix. D'Andrea and McDonald were in St. Croix to film the Hurricane Hunters as part of the television series they are making about the squadron. While there to film the squadron's missions into Tropical Storm Maria, they and Borsi met native Maria in downtown Christianstead. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)

TS Nate

A crew with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was flying a low-level invest for Tropical Storm Nate Sept. 7. The waters were very choppy as heavy rain and high winds kicked up over the Gulf of Mexico. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)

TS Nate

Senior Master Sgt. Tony Hlavac, a weather reconnaissance loadmaster with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, communicates with the other members of the aircrew as they fly into Tropical Storm Nate Sept. 7. The loadmaster also collects and records vertical meteorological data using a dropsonde. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)

TS Nate

Capt. Paul Tschida, a navigator with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, keeps track of the aircraft's position and movement while flying Tropical Storm Nate Sept. 7. The navigator also monitors the radar to avoid tornadic activity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Valerie Smock)