The United States Air Force hurricane hunting plane captured hundreds of birds trapped in the deadly eye of Category 5 Hurricane Milton, and predicted the imminent death of the animals. However, these birds could belong to the Desertas petrel species, which instead of fleeing from hurricanes, enter them.
Hurricane Milton reached category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale yesterday, October 7, in the Gulf of Mexico, 160 km northwest of Celestún, and 200 km west of Progreso in the state of Yucatán. The winds of a category 5 hurricane exceed 250 kilometers per hour and the waves reach 6 meters or more.
Although there are birds that avoid such deadly hurricanes and seek protection from strong winds, biologist Francesco Ventura discovered that Desertas petrels, seabirds the size of a dove, with gray wings and black beaks, not only do not They are not bothered by storms, but rather see them as opportunities to gain an advantage over their prey.
The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, illustrate behavior that has never been recorded in birds, as they have an unusual response to hurricanes, flying towards the storms, instead of away from them.
And it seems that the Desertas petrels chase hurricanes because the winds cause the ocean to mix, that is, the fusion of the hot water on the surface with the colder water at the bottom. This process causes birds’ prey (squid, small fish, and crustaceans) to rise to the surface, making them easier to catch.
How do hurricane hunters operate?
Hurricane Hunters is the name given to aerial reconnaissance squadrons whose mission is to investigate and analyze meteorological data from tropical cyclones.
They operate in the North Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean they are known as “typhoon chasers” or “typhoon trackers.”
In the United States, these squadrons have been made up of aircraft and crew from the Navy, Air Force, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
According to the NOAA website, the planes carry between six and fifteen people, both the flight crew and the weather crew. The flight crew consists of an aircraft commander, co-pilot, flight engineer, navigator, and electrical and data technicians. The meteorological crew may consist of a flight meteorologist, a senior project scientist, a cloud physicist, a radar scientist, and a survey quality scientist.
Its objective is to enter the storm, cross the wall of water of the hurricane, which is usually about 670 kilometers in diameter in the Pacific Ocean, in the Atlantic it is half, and enter the eye.
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