High above Earth, satellites like the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel-2 watch and track storms such as Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 maelstrom. These satellites help keep continuous eyes on the tempest and provide valuable data about how these natural disasters form and how they can impact communities in a changing world.

The news “underscores the profound ecological toll that Hurricane Melissa will have on Jamaica’s biodiversity,” said one expert on the island.

The U.S. Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the "Hurricane Hunters," were forced to turn back at one point due to heavy turbulence after flying into the eye of Hurricane Melissa on Monday.

The U.S. Air Force Reserve's "Hurricane Hunters" squadron flew into Hurricane Melissa to gather data for National Hurricane Center.

I was sitting in the middle of a 10-mile-wide stadium of the gods. On all sides, hulking thunderstorms towered high above. Just miles in any direction, a hellish-monster creating unsurvivable conditions.

Hurricane Melissa became a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, and the U.S. Air Force Reserve is among the agencies keeping an eye on the storm.

A meteorologist had the rare opportunity to fly into the eye of a major hurricane. His bird's-eye view of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa left him horrified and humbled after staring into the inside of the 5th most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.

The NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center captured video aboard its Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft, Kermit, as it was buffeted by winds near the storm's eye.

An intrepid team of hurricane hunters was mercilessly tossed by rocky turbulence while flying right into the eye of Hurricane Melissa, according to wild footage shared by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Turbulence got so bad that the Air Force Reserve's Hurricane Hunters were forced to cut short their daring trip and head back to base early.

Melissa underwent extreme rapid intensification, strengthening to a rare Category 5 with winds of 175 mph and stronger gusts, making it the strongest storm on the planet this year. Follow for live updates.