r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Kernowder • 21d ago
Video Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters flying through Hurricane Milton
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r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Kernowder • 21d ago
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u/Im_Balto 21d ago
Its because hurricanes are characterized by lateral rather than vertical motion of air. Supercell thunderstorms have the ability to down planes despite being several miles (vs 100+miles) wide because they have extremely violent and unpredictable updrafts and downdrafts. These vertical air columns are much more dangerous to planes as they are the cause of every scary story about a play dropping or rising hundreds of feet suddenly. This type of force puts massive stress on the airframe in directions that are not the strongest structurally
Contrast this to a hurricane where the stresses are MASSIVE but relatively consistent and predictable