Meterologist's Ashes Were Scattered in Milton's Eye

Peter Dodge flew into the eye of 386 storms in his career as an NOAA meteorologist—and one after his death. The NOAA's Hurricane Hunters dropped Dodge's ashes in the eye of Hurricane Milton on Tuesday night, honoring his work as a radar scientist on hundreds of hurricane missions, the New York Times reports. Dodge, 73, died in March last year, the month after he celebrated 44 years of federal service. Frank Marks, a close friend and colleague, tells the Washington Post that it was "a total honor and a great tribute to Peter and all he's done for us." Marks says the "unflappable" Dodge was one of the "glue guys" who held the team together during natural disasters.

Marks is a former director of the hurricane research division at NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, where Dodge worked. He says a lot of hurricane-tracking technology in use today started with programs Dodge wrote. In the last decade of his life, Dodge lost his sight and could no longer fly, but he used a Braille keyboard to continue working on flight modules and assisting research teams.

The Hurricane Hunters, on a mission to gather data about Milton, dropped Dodge's ashes and flight suit name tag, wrapped in a Florida state flag, the Post reports. In what WPLG hurricane specialist Michael Lowry called a "beautiful tribute," the flight's vortex data message included a tribute to Dodge. "PETER DODGE HX SCI (1950-2023) 387TH PENNY," it stated, with HX SCI meaning hurricane scientist and PENNY meaning hurricane penetration. "What a way to get your final penny," said meteorologist Jeremy DeHart, an Air Force hurricane hunter. (More Hurricane Milton stories.)