On this day in 1943, a hurricane of nearly Category 2 strength made landfallnear Galveston, Texas. Two things made this event different from the many otherhurricane landfalls which have occurred along the Gulf Coast. First, as thenation was in the middle of World War II, all ship communications in the Gulfof Mexico was silenced for fear of German U-Boat activity. This led to warningsbeing seriously delayed and Weather Bureau forecasters having littleinformation to work with. In fact, as the storm was making landfall, mostcitizens in the Galveston area were prepared for a minimal tropical storm. Thefirst indications of a storm appeared in the papers the previous morning andmentioned 30-40 mph winds. Apparently, nothing had changed in the minds offorecasters until damage reports started trickling in.Houston Office ofEmergency Management
Secondly, this date marked the first time an airplane was intentionallyflown into a hurricane--and amazingly enough, it was on a bet, and not forreconnaissance purposes. Upon hearing of a possible evacuation of aircraft,British pilots who were being trained for "instrument" flying at Bryan Fieldbegan ribbing their flight instructor, Colonel Joe Duckworth, on the frailty oftheir trainer aircraft. Needless to say, Duckworth had heard enough of this anddecided to prove his aircraft's worth. Knowing that official approval wasunlikely, Duckworth and his navigator for the event, Lieutenant Ralph O'Hair,made the flight as the hurricane was coming ashore without notifyingheadquarters.Houston Office ofEmergency Management
Ironically enough, after flying in conditions like that of "being tossedabout like a stick in a dog's mouth," Duckworth guided his AT-6 "Texan" intothe eye of the storm. O'Hair described the shape of the center like that of aleaning cone, and after flying back through the squalls to Bryan Field, O'Hairhopped out--his first and last flight into a hurricane--and the weatherofficer, Lieutenant William Jones-Burdick, made the second pass into the stormwith Duckworth. Nothing was ever said about the sturdiness of the AT-6 again.Soon after this event, reconnaissance flights were conducted infrequently atfirst, and then regularly as a Weather Reconnaissance squadron was formed in1944. By 1946, the moniker "Hurricane Hunters" was used for the first time, andever since that's what the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Squadron has beencalled.
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Randy Adkins
