Hurricane hunters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration faced extreme turbulence during a flight into Hurricane Melissa on Oct. 27, which halted the mission.

According to NOAA, severe turbulence occurred in the southwestern eyewall, triggering a mandatory return to base for a structural integrity maintenance inspection.

Flights through Hurricane Melissa began on Oct. 22 and are scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The flights totaled nearly 80 hours with over 200 dropsondes and 12 uncrewed aerial systems deployed to gather data that enhances forecast accuracy.

Pending verification, a wind gust of 252 miles per hour was measured on the morning of October 28, potentially the fastest ever recorded on a dropsonde in a tropical cyclone.

The fastest verified wind g

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