It seems to me that technology has reached the point that hurricane
research could be supplemented by so called 'robotic airborne sensors',
you might say smart balloons. If you can track a bird flying across the
Atlantic that has a mini GPS receiver/transmitter then you should be
able to drop instruments into a hurricanes that will ride the storm
transmitting back vital data. Such devices may have already been built
and tried. Does anyone have any knowledge of such? What I am talking
about is something similar to a dropsonde that does not drop but instead
stays airborne. It would have to be a 'lighter than air instrument
package'.