A meteorologist had the rare opportunity to fly into the eye of a major hurricane. His bird's-eye view of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa left him horrified and humbled after staring into the inside of the 5th most intense Atlantic hurricane on record.

Footage captured by the U.S. air force from inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa shows the Category 5 storm as it sweeps towards Jamaica and other Caribbean islands.

Mesmerising footage from inside Hurricane Melissa was captured by a US Air Force Reserve crew on Monday (27 October). The ferocious Category 5 storm is set to pummel Jamaica, with forecasters warning that it would be the strongest to hit the island since records began 174 years ago.

An outside view showed cloudy blue skies off to the side of the aircraft while the crew plowed into the heart of Hurricane Melissa, which had wreaked havoc throughout the Caribbean islands.

The U.S. Air Force’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron captured footage of the towering walls inside the eye of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa Monday, before “heavy turbulence”

Incredible footage shows inside the cockpit as storm chasers fly near the eye of Hurricane Melissa, with the plane hurled around like a toy. Incredible footage shows inside the cockpit as storm chasers fly near the eye of Hurricane Melissa.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwest Jamaica this week near the coastal town of Black River, which the government has described as “ground zero.”