--- ---  # See What it's Like to Fly Inside Hurricane Irma by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Sep 6, 2017 2:18 PM UTC  Hurricane Irma, a record Category 5 storm, is seen in this NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image from GOES-16 satellite taken on Sept. 5, 2017. Hurricane Irma, a record Category 5 storm, is seen in this NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image from GOES-16 satellite taken on Sept. 5, 2017.NOAA—Reuters by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Sep 6, 2017 2:18 PM UTC The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or [NOAA,](http://time.com/4927703/hurricane-irma-south-florida/) sent “[Hurricane Hunter](http://time.com/4522699/hurricane-matthew-flight-video-noaa/)” aircraft over the Atlantic on Tuesday to get a closer look at [Hurricane Irma,](http://time.com/4928798/pope-francis-plane-hurricane-irma/) The storm, now a Category 5, [made landfall in the Caribbean](http://time.com/4928414/hurricane-irma-caribbean-storm-winds-florida/?xid=homepage) early Wednesday. The NOAA Lockheed Martin [WP-3D Orion](https://www.omao.noaa.gov/find/media/images/noaa-lockheed-martin-wp-3d-orion-n42rf-flight) (nicknamed “[Kermit](https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/aircraft-operations/about/hurricane-hunters),” hence the doll hanging near the window) captured video of what it’s like to fly into Hurricane Irma, with footage showing the eye of the storm from inside. The video also showed a “[stadium effect](https://twitter.com/NOAA%5FHurrHunter/status/905129451415056385),” in which the clouds surrounding the eye stretch upwards, giving the appearance of the sides of a sports arena. > [](https://twitter.com/NOAA%5FHurrHunter/status/905397012534882306) Watch the footage above, posted by the NOAA on Twitter, to see what it’s like inside the storm. Hurricane Hunters Share Video From Inside Hurricane Irma ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4928941/hurricane-irma-hunters-noaa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4928941/hurricane-irma-hunters-noaa/"},"headline":"See What it's Like to Fly Inside Hurricane Irma","datePublished":"2017-09-06T14:18:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:18:03.663Z","description":"The 'Hurricane Hunters' fly into storms to collect valuable data","url":"https://time.com/4928941/hurricane-irma-hunters-noaa/","keywords":["weather","Hurricanes","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt090bb497d13d4655/6988dc9c4ee262676b30ee0b/hurricane-irma-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt090bb497d13d4655/6988dc9c4ee262676b30ee0b/hurricane-irma-001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image of Hurricane Irma","caption":"NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center image of Hurricane Irma","creditText":"NOAA—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4928941/hurricane-irma-hunters-noaa/","name":"See What it's Like to Fly Inside Hurricane Irma"}}]}] ```