Late meteorologist who spent his life chasing hurricanes gets the send-off he always wanted

Peter Dodge, a passionate meteorologist dedicated over four decades of his life exploring the intricacies of hurricanes. While most people are afraid of storms, he was fascinated by them. Examining how rain cells behave during hurricanes and penetrating the eye of a hurricane, these things exhilarated him. So when Hurricane Milton slapped Florida’s coast on October 8, Tuesday, the hurricane hunters at NOAA decided to pay tribute to Peter, by surrendering his ashes to the eye of the storm, reported USA Today.

On Tuesday evening, about 300 miles southwest of Florida, twenty scientists onboard a hurricane flight, read the poem "Peace, My Heart," by Rabindranath Tagore. And then they dropped a cylindrical tube containing Peter’s ashes into Milton’s eye. "The line that really stood out to everyone in the poem is, 'Let the flight through the sky end with folding of wings over the nest,'" a scientist told USA Today.

Peter worked as a radar scientist. His toolkit was filled with readings like air pressures, wave heights, and wind speeds. During his prolific career, Peter went on hundreds of hurricane flights and made a whopping 386 hurricane eye penetrations. According to the New York Times, he also designed flight modules and extensively contributed to understanding the evolution of hurricanes’ structures. He was awarded the “Department of Commerce Bronze Medal,” two “NOAA Administrator Awards,” and the “Army Corps of Engineers Patriotic Civilian Service Award” for his contributions.

 “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, 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.”

Commenting on the tribute episode, Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist and storm surge expert at WPLG-TV in Miami, wrote on X that it was a “beautiful tribute.” He also shared a picture noting that the vortex data message, sent by the plane to record information about the storm, featured a tribute to Peter’s lifetime of work. It included his name, the number “387” for the hurricane flights he took, and the inscription “1950-2023” for the years of his life.

Another storm-chaser, @kylerhogan33 said, “This is an absolute American way to go!” @nikkivicious, who worked with Peter for one of his scientific papers, wrote, “This is the perfect tribute to an amazing scientist.” Whereas @rickbritt61 put it somewhat poetically, “Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind.”

Milton made its landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm before weakening to a Category 1. According to CNN, it rained about 16 inches on St. Petersburg. About 5 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, the Gulfport area too received an “incredible” amount of wind and rain. Additionally, the gargantuan storm has blocked power for more than 2 million people in the state. In Tampa, a flood emergency was declared. Meanwhile, as Peter’s ashes dissolve into the swirling hurricane, Peter is blissed out. Like the waters of the hurricane, he is now everywhere throughout Florida. Godspeed, Peter!