Hurricane Hunters Touch Down for Education, Not Emergency

You usually hear about Hurricane Hunters when a dangerous storm is already on the way, but this time, they’re coming to Belize for a very different reason. No hurricane, no emergency, just a rare opportunity up close. On Thursday, one of the elite aircraft known for flying straight into the heart of hurricanes will touch down in Belize, giving students and community groups a behind the scenes look at how critical weather data is gathered before disasters strike. The visit is part of an educational push by the Belize Meteorological Service, opening the door to a world most people only see on TV. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon explains why this hands on experience matters, and who gets a front row seat to science that helps save lives.

 

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist

“ So we do have the visit of the Hurricane Hunters aircraft coming in on, they’re coming on Wednesday evening, but the tour will be open on Thursday. It is not open to the public in such a way that to see that anybody can go there. We had advertised it actually on Facebook to our Facebook page and asked persons, groups, especially organized groups – not individuals to book a slot and to get to see the aircraft. We had very good response. So several schools, a few other groups actually had booked slots to see the aircraft. The opening to the public, opening to those groups. That would be from 10:30 and until 3:30. Prior to that, we have an opening ceremony in the morning where we’re inviting the media, and of course, we are gonna have what we call a VIP tour of the aircraft with officials and media is invited to attend as well.”

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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