NOAA's 'Hurricane Hunters' work around the clock to track Dorian
The recon flights allow the crew of scientists, engineers and meteorologists to measure Hurricane Dorian from the inside.
A video posted on social media by NASA shows 62 mph wind and rain from Hurricane Dorian whipping through the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Control Center parking lot at 3 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
At its closest point, the eye of the hurricane came within 70 nautical miles of Cape Canaveral, according to NASA. “Data from our 250 foot tower clocked the top windspeed at 90 mph,” Kennedy Space Center tweeted.
A 120-strong team of NASA personnel rode out the storm at Kennedy Space Center, monitoring any damage to key launch infrastructure.
“The Damage Assessment and Recovery Team will fully survey Kennedy for #HurricaneDorian damage on Thursday,” Kennedy Space Center tweeted Wednesday. Workers will be returning to the famous launch site on Thursday.
HURRICANE DORIAN: NASA TEAM SET TO RIDE OUT STORM AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
On Aug. 30, NASA confirmed that its Mobile Launcher had been moved to the space agency’s gigantic Vehicle Assembly Building to protect it from Dorian.
The Mobile Launcher is key to America’s space future. It'll be used to launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B for future Artemis missions to the Moon.
Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex is closed through Thursday as a result of Hurricane Dorian.
In 2017, NASA said that Kennedy Space Center had sustained “a variety of damage” as a result of Hurricane Irma. A year earlier, NASA reported limited damage to Kennedy Space Center from Hurricane Matthew.
President Trump expressed some relief regarding Hurricane Dorian's impact on Florida Wednesday, saying "we got lucky in Florida."
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Still, his administration is bracing for significant amounts of rain and storm surge as the hurricane makes its way up the Atlantic coast.
Dorian is moving parallel to the northeastern coast of Florida, with rainbands bringing heavy rain to the southeast U.S. coast.
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Florida's official hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, and typically enters its peak in mid-August.
The Associated Press contributed to this article. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers