US Air Force Reserve aircrews from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler AFB, Mississippi, flew the unit’s WC-130J Weatherbirds from Homestead ARB, Florida, while tracking Tropical Storm Erika in support of the National Hurricane Center in Miami in late August 2015. The Hurricane Hunter crews flew four missions into TS Erika from their unit’s deployed location at St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. Because of the storm's projected path, operations moved to Homestead ARB Aug. 27. Information collected by the Hurricane Hunters increases accuracy of the NHC forecast by up to twenty percent, allowing the National Hurricane Center to more accurately forecast the path of storms in order to save lives and narrow areas of evacuation.
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