'I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy': The people who work inside the eye of a hurricane

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Observations from within the inner core of a hurricane are also one of the keys to forecasting rapid changes in storm strength. Predicting such shifts in intensity involves observing inner core cloud properties, including air motion, within the storm, says Ting-Yu Cha, a postdoctoral fellow in atmospheric science at the National Science Foundation's National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Meanwhile, perhaps among the strangest features a hurricane sometimes shows is the formation of a second eye wall, with a new outer ring of thunderstorms emerging around the first. 

Satellite and aircraft data are the only ways forecasters can detect whether this phenomena has occurred over the open ocean, adds Alvin Cheung, a graduate student at the University of Maryland's department of atmospheric and oceanic science. Such a formation can temporarily pause intensification, but is then sometimes followed by a renewed storm intensity as the storm's wind field enlarges. 

Real-time monitoring from within the storm can thus help save lives, says Ting-Yu, allowing people to make evacuation decisions "well before the storm hits".