Gripping footage shows the eye of Hurricane Helene as the storm barrels toward Florida.
Video shared by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters shows the eye of the storm Wednesday morning as viewed from their aircraft.
FULL COVERAGE: Helene expected to become Category 4 ahead of landfall in Florida
NOAA's WP-3D Orion four-engine turboprop aircraft probes every wind and pressure change of a storm. Their instruments continuously transmit measurements of pressure, humidity, temperature, and wind direction and speed as they fall toward the sea, providing a detailed look at the structure of the storm and its intensity.
The video shows Helene as a category 1 storm. But the storm is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 24 hours, forecast to reach catastrophic category 4 strength before making landfall in Florida's Big Bend area Thursday.
It's a story that's all too familiar for residents near the Panhandle. Helene will be the third hurricane to strike the region in just 13 months, after Hurricane Idalia in August of 2023 and Hurricane Debby just last month .
