Hurricane Melissa’s Wind pressure reached record speeds before the end of the storm in the Caribbean last month, according to data recorded during the deadly event.
The data was collected when the NOA Hunter spacecraft dropped a fleet of weather instruments into the fiery storm, according to a news release from the US National Science Foundation’s National Center for Countise Counder. The devices, called Dropsondes, have small parachutes attached and take two to four readings a second before falling into the ocean.
Dropsondes are the only devices that can simultaneously record data on pressure, temperature, humidity and wind. The data is used for forecasting and weather warnings, including emergency warnings.
“If you’re looking at a category 4 or 5 hurricane, you won’t have an airplane flying close to the face – that was completely unsafe – but where it’s found is the people and equipment of the NSF NCAR Terry Hoke, who manages the Dropsonde program. “The Dropsonde gets you information you can’t get any other way and that’s why it’s been there for decades.”
One Dropsonde used during Hurricane Melissa recorded a 252-mile-per-hour wind gust just before landfall.
Holger vömel / NSF NCAR
NOAA investigators contacted NSF NCAR to confirm that it was the highest wind speed ever recorded by a tornado.
“Noaa threatened us when they saw the high wind speed and asked, ‘Are these numbers good?
To verify the data, vömel and other researchers reviewed the numbers with quality control software. They also confirmed that the reported 252 Mile Wind Gust was physically possible, and that it followed the behavior of storms, and past storm patterns. The review confirmed that the air pressure measurement was accurate.
The previous highest atmospheric pressure recorded by the Dropsonde was in 2010, when Typhoon Megi revealed 248 miles per hour while over the western Pacific Ocean. At the time Hurricane Katrinaresearchers thought they had documented a more powerful gust, but the data had major limitations, NSF NCAR said.
Noaa / Nesdis / Star Goes-19 
“They have pilots and investigators literally on the line to get these measurements. They’re heroes, and it’s an honor for us to play a part in making sure the measurements they get are accurate,” Vömel said.
Hurricane Melissa catastrophic injury in the Caribbean in late October. It made a stop in Jamaica as a section 5 patch before progressing to Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Lots of people, especially inside Jamaica and Haitithey were killed in the storm.
