weather recon officer

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.