Scientist’s ashes dropped into hurricane Milton’s eye as final tribute

A life of hurricane research

Dodge, who died on March 3, 2023, worked extensively with the National Hurricane Center and Aircraft Operations Center, focusing on both land-based and airborne radar research.

“During hurricane seasons, Peter participated in hurricane aircraft missions, serving as the onboard radar scientist and conducting radar analyses, later becoming an expert in radar data processing,” wrote the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in its January–March 2023 newsletter (pointed out helpfully by First Coast News).

A photo of Peter Dodge taken by Shirley Murillo for NOAA during a Hurricane research flight in 2005.

According to the AOML newsletter, Dodge’s work earned him several accolades, including a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, two NOAA Administrator Awards, and the Army Corps of Engineers Patriotic Civilian Service Award.

As his vision deteriorated over time, Dodge continued to design flight modules for hurricane landfall experiments and coordinate with research teams to gather data using mobile weather platforms. Dodge’s colleagues at AOML remembered him fondly, noting his enthusiasm for discussing current events, books, music, and radar technology.

After a life like that, having your ashes dropped into the eye of a historic Category 5 hurricane (at the time of the drop) seems like a fitting tribute. As Jeremy Dehart put it in a post, “What a way to get your final penny.”