This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. On Thursday, Edouard weakened to a tropical storm as it moved into colder waters. NOAA got a handful of the drones this year to test during the peak of hurricane season, thanks federal funding after Hurricane Sandy. Cione hopes to secure funding to test a few more drones next year. Some technical kinks with the communications systems need to be worked out and funding needs to be secured before the drones can become a regular part of the hurricane hunter operations. "It orbited the eyewall, and we've never measured anything like that." "There's no other device that can do that," he said by phone from Bermuda, where the drone-bearing hurricane hunter flights originated. Another drone launched into Edouard's calm eye was directed into the intense eyewall in a maneuver that Cione likened to merging onto a busy highway. One drone followed air currents through the storm. The preliminary results were potential game changers, Cione said. National Hurricane Center forecasters and other scientists will spend months analyzing the data transmitted by the drones. Cione said those devices deliver snapshots compared to the lengthy transmissions sent back by the drones. Scientists also drop canisters filled with electronics to transmit data as they fall to the ocean, but they remain airborne for only a few minutes. They are maneuvered by computer software. The drones are covered with sensors and have a small motor on them. ![]() The 3-foot-long, 7-pound devices stayed in the hurricane for up to an hour, transmitting temperature, pressure and wind observations before falling to the ocean. It was the first time that the drones have been dropped into a hurricane. Having that information while a storm is still far offshore could help officials better plan for evacuations or storm surge risks. Researchers hope the drones will help them better understand what makes some storms strengthen while others fizzle.
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