September 12, 2008 3:47 PM PDT
A bulletin from the NHC Friday morning credits the contribution of the Air Force flights: "Reconnaissance aircraft and microwave data indicate that Ike has not yet developed a tight inner circle as anticipated." The storm is expected to make landfall around midnight Friday.
This photo, taken during a flight into Ike, shows Air Force Capt. Kaitlyn McLaughlin, the aerial reconnaissance weather officer, at a storm-tracking station aboard a WC-130J.
Photo by U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. James B. Pritchett
Caption by Jonathan Skillings
