Hurricane Florence brushed past Bermuda after it recurved to the northeast, on it's way up towards Newfoundland. The Hurricane Hunters flew nine missions on this storm while it was threatening Bermuda, and were credited with greatly helping the forecasters accurately assess the storm. In the NHC discussion issued at 5 PM on Sept 11, the Hurricane Specialist declared:

"WE ARE REMINDED ONCE AGAIN THAT THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR AIRCRAFT RECONNAISSANCE OBSERVATIONS. WHILE THE DVORAK SATELLITE TECHNIQUE ESTIMATED AN INTENSITY OF 35 KT...THE RECON FOUND A LARGE AREA OF WINDS AT THE 1000 FT LEVEL IN EXCESS OF 60 KT...AND EVEN A SMALL AREA OF WINDS IN EXCESS OF 75 KT ON THE EDGE OF THE CONVECTION. THIS SUPPORTS SURFACE WINDS OF 60 TO 65 KT... "

Our job has a lot of rewards, and one of them is when we can make such a huge difference. The satellite photo (above) was so beautifully enhanced at Johns-Hopkins University, and shows the storm as it was approaching Bermuda.