As the 2026 hurricane season approaches, NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will host a series of events in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean to raise awareness of hurricane preparedness for the upcoming season, which officially begins on June 1.
National Hurricane Center (NHC) Director Michael Brennan, along with other NHC and National Weather Service staff, will visit with local officials and emergency managers of hurricane-vulnerable communities and discuss hurricane preparedness, resilience, and how they can become “weather-ready.” An Air Force Reserve Command WC-130J “Hurricane Hunter” aircraft will be on hand to highlight how scientists collect data about hurricanes. Some locations offer public tours; details regarding availability are noted below.
WHAT:
NOAA’s Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 14 through Saturday, April 18, 2026
WHERE:
- April 14, Florida Keys Marathon International Airport in Marathon, Florida
(Public tours begin at 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT) - April 15, Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport in Roatan, Honduras
(Media availability at 10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.) - April 16, Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport in Belize City, Belize
(Media availability at 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. CST) - April 18, Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport, Isla Grande, Puerto Rico
(Public tours begin at 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. AST)
WHO:
- Michael Brennan, director, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center
- Robbie Berg, warning coordination meteorologist, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center
- Jose Alamo, meteorologist, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center
- Sandy Delgado, meteorologist, NOAA's National Hurricane Center
- Kerri Englert, flight director, NOAA’s Aircraft Operations Center
- LCDR David Keith, aircraft acquisition deputy director, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations
- Flight crew from the U.S. Air Force Reserve aircraft
The NOAA Hurricane Hunters, stationed at the Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, fly missions into tropical cyclones to gather data to support storm forecasts and research. NOAA’s Lockheed WP-3D Orion, which is celebrating 50 years of service, and Gulfstream IV-SP are piloted by NOAA Commissioned Corps officers and crewed by NOAA meteorologists, technicians and researchers. You can take a virtual tour of these aircraft here.
