Hurricane Milton has devastated Florida, but out of the natural tragedy comes one small speck of light and heartwarming. A meteorologist's colleagues recently scattered his ashes in the middle of Hurricane Milton's Eye.
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According to People, Peter Dodge, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radar scientist at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Florida, died in March 2023. He had a stroke at the age of 72. Dodge spent his career involved in the weather and chasing storms. So it was fitting that he was buried within one.
On Tuesday, Oct. 8, 20 of his colleagues in the NOAA's "Hurricane Hunters" made the trip to Hurricane Milton. They literally flew into the eye of the storm to give their colleague a fitting send-off. As part of the sendoff, they read Rabindranath Tagore's poem, "Peace, My Heart."
Meteorologist Buried In The Eye Of Hurricane Milton
"Let the flight through the sky end with folding of wings over the nest" is befitting of Dodge and his final resting place.
"Peter truly had an unyielding passion for participating in field activities, including flying, and an insatiable curiosity for research," Shirley Murillo, deputy director of the Hurricane Research Division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, told the New York Times. "By releasing his ashes into Hurricane Milton, we sought to honor his memory and his spirit of teamwork, adventure and curiosity."
Meanwhile, his sister Shelley felt honored by the tribute. She said her brother always wanted to go back up. She said, "They honored him because he always wanted to go back up in the plane."
So it's fitting that Hurricane Milton was his final resting place. He spent decades working on meteorology and conducting hurricane missions. Over his career, he conducted 386 penetrations into the hurricane's eye.
He was awarded a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, two NOAA Administrator Awards, the Army Corp of Engineers Patriotic Civilian Service Award, the Department of Commerce Gold Medal, and an Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference Public Service Award.
Meanwhile, meteorologist Jeff Masters remembered Doge. He said that he "understood hurricanes better or as good as anyone alive."
