Watch: Hurricane Hunters fly into Matthew, break into eye of the storm

A crew member stands underneath a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration G-IV hurricane hunter aircraft, which is on display for the public, at New Orleans Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The NOAA G-IV is part of that agency’s fleet of highly specialized research and operational aircraft. The G-IV is operated, managed […]

Posted: Oct 7, 2016 / 05:07 AM EDT

Updated: Oct 7, 2016 / 05:07 AM EDT

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(MEDIA GENERAL) – NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, uploaded some amazing footage from one of their Hurricane Hunter research flights into Hurricane Matthew.

The video shows the research crew flying through the storm, bouncing around, as rain pounds their windshield before breaking through into the eye of the hurricane.

The Hurricane Hunters conduct research using special aircraft that gather more information on storms and help track changes to generate more accurate forecasts.

Hurricane Matthew approached the East coast of Florida on Thursday night and is expected to ride the coastline of Georgia late Friday and South Carolina on Saturday before turning back east. Forecasters are expecting heavy winds and rain as well as a dangerous level of storm surge in some areas that could cause catastrophic flooding.