First-hand reports and color photos take middle readers on a wild ride as hurricane hunters set about gathering scientific data by flying into the heart of these powerful storms.
Timothy R. Gaffney was born in Dayton in 1951 and has lived in the Miami Valley most of his life. After earning a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus in 1974, he worked for the Piqua Daily Call, the Kettering-Oakwood Times and the Dayton Daily News, where he took early retirement at the end of 2006. Since then he has held positions as assistant media relations director for Wright State University and director of communications for the National Aviation Heritage Area. He is a former volunteer trustee for the United States Air and Trade Show Inc., the nonprofit producer of the Dayton Air Show. He lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, with his wife, Jean. They have four grown children, two grandchildren and two dogs.