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Florida was devastated by flooding, high winds and tornadoes from the deadly Hurricane Milton Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich is giving offensive play duties to Todd Downing from OC Nathaniel Hackett

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“Miss Piggy,” one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) two Lockheed WP-3D Orion “Hurricane Hunters,” flew into the eye of Hurricane Milton, and video taken from the cockpit shows what the passengers on board experienced during of the flight looking through the storm and collecting data.

“These flights collect important data that helps improve forecasts and support hurricane research,” NOAA said in a post on Facebook.

On Monday, the plane, which has a Muppet logo on its nose, flew into Hurricane Milton as the storm moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida's west coast. Hurricane hunters used the aircraft to collect data on the storm, which quickly became a Category 5 on Monday evening.

On the same day of the flight, the storm rapidly intensified and winds reached sustained winds of 180 miles per hour.

Why did it fly into the storm?

The aircraft, manufactured in the mid-1970s, flew into Hurricane Milton to measure several key details of the storm, Susan Buchanan, public affairs director for the National Weather Service, told USA TODAY in an email.

“The purpose of these missions is primarily to locate the center of the storm and measure central pressure and surface winds around the eye,” she wrote.

The National Hurricane Center then uses this data to monitor the location, strength and speed of a storm, and meteorologists use this information to make forecasts about the storm's path and intensity.

Kermit and Miss Piggy: The Muppets chase hurricanes

Miss Piggy is one of two WP-3D Orions. The other is named Kermit, according to NOAA.

According to an article published by NOAA, “Miss Piggy” was originally named “Pig,” according to Greg Bast, production manager and flight engineer at NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center. He and another flight engineer, Steve Kirkpatrick, were dissatisfied with the aircraft's appearance and set about modifying it between 1990 and 1991.

“We also decided to call it 'Miss Piggy' because the Muppet character is always so particular about her appearance,” he wrote.

Bast then drew a logo with Miss Piggy on it and he and Kirkpatrick placed it on their desks, toolboxes and on the plane. The name spread throughout the office. Soon the plane was nicknamed “Miss Piggy” and it “became one of the most beautiful airplanes we had,” Bast said.

Frith also came up with the idea of ​​naming the second plane Kermit because the characters are “such good friends and the two planes are very close.”

In 1996, NOAA acquired another hurricane research aircraft, a G-IV, named after the Muppet Gonzo.

Contributors: John Bacon, Trevor Hughes, Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Reuters

Julia is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. You can connect with her LinkedInkeep following her X, formerly Twitter, Instagram And TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at [email protected]

On By John Fenwick

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