Hurricane Pounds the Gulf of Mexico

Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to Nov. 30. ... Hurricane Elena, with wind speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour (177 kilometers per hour), was photographed in the Gulf of Mexico on September 1, 1985. Almost the entire storm can be seen in this high-oblique photograph. For instance, a number of thunderstorms with their overshooting tops, the spiral bands of numerous thunderstorms leading to the eye of the hurricane, and numerous cloud gravity waves within the spiral bands can be seen. Some portions of the eye wall, where the most destructive winds of the storm occur, are also visible. This storm eventually made landfall near Gulfport, Mississippi.

Hot Shot

Astronaut Ed Lu snapped this photo of the eye of Hurricane Isabel from the International Space Station on September 13, 2003 at 11:18 UTC. At the time, Isabel was located about 450 miles northeast of Puerto Rico. It had dropped to a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, packing winds of 150 miles per hour with gusts up to 184 miles per hour. This photo shows the structure of Isabel's eyewall. What makes this photo unique is because no other sensor images the eyewalls of hurricane with such detail.

Fly in the Eye

NOAA P-3 flying in eye of Hurricane Caroline. Note the circular eye pictured just below the aircraft.

Category-5 Killer

On the week of August 24th, 1992, Atlantic-born Hurricane Andrew ripped through south Florida, barreled its way northwest across the Gulf of New Mexico, and slammed into Louisiana roughly one hundred miles southwest of New Orleans. Along the way, the Category 5 hurricane gave rise to 18-foot (5.5-meter) storm surges that inundated coastal towns and maximum sustained winds of 165 miles (266 kilometer) per hour that reduced entire neighborhoods to kindling. In the end, Andrew resulted in $25 billion in damages (1992 dollars) and more than 60 deaths, directly and indirectly through flooding.

Fast and Furious

This image features the eye of Hurricane Ivan at center, partially framed by solar array panels on the International Space Station. One of the strongest hurricanes on record, Ivan was photographed on September 11, 2004 from an altitude of about 230 miles by Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, NASA ISS science officer and flight engineer, aboard the orbital outpost. At the time, Ivan was in the western Caribbean Sea and reported to have winds of 160 mph.

Commotion in the Ocean

This picture of Hurricane Alma, a Category 2 hurricane was captured on May 30, 2002. The hurricane sustained winds up to 110 miles per hour and gusts up to 135 miles per hour.

Eye of the Storm

A look into the eye of the storm from space was provided by astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke as Hurricane Ivan approached landfall on the central Gulf coast (22:02:35 GMT, Sept. 15, 2004).

Inside the Walls

Spectacular eye and eye wall photograph taken from NOAA P-3.