What Is It Like Inside the Eye of a Hurricane? See Photos and Video

Have you ever wondered what happens inside the eye of a hurricane?

Though the rest of the storm churns out high winds, heavy rain and even tornadoes, the eye of a hurricane is a “is a relatively calm, clear area” that is typically 20 to 40 miles across, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Many are fascinated by how quickly the storm’s deadly effects can subside, only to quickly resume again a short time later, “but this time from the opposite direction,” as NOAA noted.

Hurricane Hunters with NOAA will fly into the eye of storms to capture data on their intensity. They have shared photos with the public that offer glimpses inside the storms they track, and some of their more impressive features.

On July 2, for instance, the NOAA Hurricane Hunters posted stunning images online from inside the eye of Hurricane Beryl as a Category 5 storm.

The photos, taken while Beryl spun over the Caribbean, showed a tight wall of thick, white clouds circulating around the center of the storm while the sun shone bright in the blue sky overhead — which they described as the “stadium effect.” 

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According to The Weather Channel, the “stadium effect” is a phenomenon found in tropical cyclones where a well-defined eye can take on qualities similar to the interior of a stadium.

“The towering clouds that make up the surrounding eyewall take on the role of stadium seating, while the lower, clearer portion near the center of the eye is the playing field,” TWC said alongside images of Beryl’s eye.

Hurricane Hunters also captured impressive images of the “stadium effect” from Hurricane Dorian, the Category 5 storm that devastated The Bahamas in September 2019.

Award-winning reporter Jim Edds has captured some stunning imagery of life inside the eye — but from the ground — during Dorian, as well.

In one image, which Edds shared on X (formerly Twitter), the eyewall looked like a halo around the sun as it briefly reappeared amid a blue sky while the eye passed Hopetown.

Footage taken by Edds during the same hurricane, which has been seen more than one million times on YouTube, showed just how calm conditions were inside the eye as it passed. The wind was barely blowing, the sun was shining and the rain had completely stopped.

Edds also captured some of the final moments inside the eye, as winds began to pick back up and the clouds began to move back into the area.

Hurricane season in the United States officially begins on June 1 and ends on November 30 each year.

The season climatologically peaks around mid-September, though a secondary peak can occur in October, according to the National Weather Service.