10/31/2025
π€― First-Ever Drone Footage From Inside the Eye of Hurricane Melissa
Hurricane Melissa was a historic Category 5 storm with 185 mph sustained winds and a preliminary record gust of 252 mph. It underwent rare Extreme Rapid Intensification.
NOAA Hurricane Hunters partnered with Black Swift Technologies to tackle this challenge. We deployed our autonomous S0 drone right into the most dangerous area: the Boundary Layer (air closest to the ocean) that fuels these storms.
The S0 flew as low as 20 feet above the waves, tracking Melissa across six missions and collecting a record amount of high-resolution data on 3D winds, SST, and PTHβdata previously impossible to get. We even captured video from inside the storm's eye, showing the terrifying turbulence and the sudden calm of the 'stadium effect.'
This critical data is filling critical gaps in forecast models, and it's projected to improve overall hurricane forecast accuracy by up to 20%. That means more reliable warnings and greater lead time to save lives. π