A Navy plane dives into Esther's eye and dusts the storm with silver iodide

By September 1961, Hurricane Esther was a major storm, already tracked by satellite as it churned across the Atlantic. On September 16, about 400 miles northeast of Puerto Rico, a Navy aircraft flew into the eye of the storm and dropped canisters of silver iodide into its clouds. The hurricane appeared to weaken by roughly ten percent, and government scientists were elated. The effect did not last; Esther resumed strengthening shortly after, but officials still called the flight a triumph…