CNN —The second half of hurricane season is here and there have already been 17 named storms to keep hurricane hunters busy. But have you ever noticed hurricane hunters’ flight patterns shown by meteorologists on TV look like random, odd shapes? Hurricane hunters don’t fly away from these storms like commercial airlines do. There are two distinctive groups of hurricane hunters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Air Force Reserve (USAF). Fixed missionsFixed missions are designated for systems that meet tropical cyclone qualifications, such as tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes.

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