Saildrone's SD-1045 crosses Hurricane Isaias eye in Gulf
The gist
A 23-foot Saildrone vehicle crossed Hurricane Isaias's eye in the Gulf, logging 103 mph gusts and 65-foot waves.
The uncrewed pass collected hurricane data NOAA says could improve forecasting.
How it unfolded
- Oct 9, 2026Hurricane Isaias, a Category 3 storm, encountered SD-1045, a 7-meter uncrewed surface vehicle operated by Saildrone with NOAA. Pilots in Alameda, California steered it at the northern edge of the storm; it crossed the eye and came out the other side, logging wind gusts over 103 mph and waves up to 65 feet. A second boat, SD-1057, took the eastern side of the storm roughly 170 nautical miles west of Sarasota.
- Oct 9, 2026Isaias came ashore near Destin, Florida, at about 9:30 p.m. ET with sustained winds of 105 mph and a pressure of 971 millibars; a gust of 116 mph was recorded at Santa Rosa Sound. Around 700,000 customers lost power across the Panhandle and two people died.
- Oct 13, 2026NOAA announced a Saildrone research fleet to circle Antarctica for 5 years.