- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
What instruments are you asking about
They use an array of instruments to collect data. one of the most important though is the dropsonde.
It's a small tube with instruments in it that has a parachute attached. It also has a radio transmitter to send data back up to the airplane. At various places in the storm such as in the eye wall and at the center of a hurricane, the weather reconnaissance load master will release the "sonde" into the storm. As it's falling, and right up until it hits the water, it sends temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and wind direction back to the aircraft at a rate of twice each second. This is the information the hurricane forecasters use to decide if the storm is getting stronger or weaker.
Other equipment includes On Board Doppler Radar,
They use the Aircraft Altimeter below 5000 ft for Air Pressure
But the most important piece of equipment that the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron uses is the Lockheed-Martin WC-130J (Hercules) Aircraft. it is what gets them to and from the hurricane to get the data needed for the NHC in Miami to help forecast the storm and to get the proper watches and warnings out to the Public..
To Learn More about the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Hurricane Hunters) you can visit there website at http://www.hurricanehunters.com/index.html
And for more questions and answers you can visit the NWS's National Hurricane Center FAQ Page at http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html
I hope this helps