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10 years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of America, weather presenter Simon King has visited Miami, the worldwide centre for hurricane science and forecasting, to see how hurricane forecasting has advanced.

He met Lt David Cowan, a pilot who flies planes directly into storms. He explained that there are usually nine people on board, and a mission can take around seven to nine hours.

The team gather data by dropping 'dropsondes': small, expendable cylinders made of biodegradable material. They are dropped from around 41,000 feet, travelling at about 3,000 feet per minute, collecting data, which is sent directly to the Hurricane Centre.

The meteorological data from inside the storm goes straight to into the numerical computer models used to forecast storm track and associated hazards. Lt Cowan says this method has greatly improved the actual forecast and warnings given to the public.

"Our whole job here is to save lives and property," he says.

This clip was originally broadcast as part of 'Hurricane Katrina: 10 years on' on Sunday 20th August 2015

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