The federal government’s hurricane hunters have continued to fly despite the shutdown. At least two missions — one operated by NOAA on Monday and the second by the Air Force on Tuesday — were aborted when pilots experienced dangerous turbulence passing through the hurricane.

Hurricane Melissa is a Category 5 storm as of the most recent update from the NHC, with maximum sustained wind gusts reaching 175 mph. The storm is barreling toward Jamaica, where catastrophic, life-threatening damage is expected, as landfall in the Caribbean island nation is forecast for Tuesday.

They fly straight into the world’s most dangerous storms to gather life-saving data. Here's the skinny on the pilots and scientists who make hurricane hunting possible.

Hurricane Hunters were forced to cut short their reconnaissance mission into the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Monday morning, Oct. 27.

Satellites around Earth are watching as a powerful Hurricane Melissa travels toward Jamaica. On Oct. 21, scientists began monitoring Hurricane Melissa — the 13th named storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season this year — develop.

Gathering data from planes inside hurricanes is a dangerous game and 52 lives have been lost since operations began in 1944.

Kermit is one of two WP-3D Orion turboprop airplanes that NOAA operates, often alongside the Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. Logging its first hurricane mission in 1976, Kermit is older than many of the people who fly it. On its belly are the names of over 100 hurricanes that the craft has flown into.

Footage shared by the NOAA shows hurricane hunters flying directly into the chaos of Melissa, showing intense turbulence as the storm recorded wind speeds of up to 185 mph.

Video captured a flight experiencing intense turbulence as Hurricane Melissa swept across the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday.