Real Storm, Fake Footage: Viral Hurricane Melissa Video Is AI-Generated

A dramatic video circulating on social media claims to show an airplane flying directly into the eye of Hurricane Melissa and capturing a vortex from above. While Hurricane Melissa is indeed a real and powerful storm, investigation shows the viral clip is not genuine footage.

Social Media Posts

A video showing an aerial view of a hurricane from an airplane has been shared widely on multiple platforms, with captions claiming it depicts Hurricane Melissa.

Source | Archive

Source | Archive

Fact Check

Visual Analysis

We used reverse image search to trace the original source and found that the viral clip was first posted on TikTok by the channel @earthimpacts approximately three days ago.

This account identifies itself as an AI-creator channel and has posted several videos in a similar style. Notably, the clip carries TikTok’s “AI-generated” label, and the uploader did not specify that the video pertains to Hurricane Melissa.

We also tested the footage in question with several AI-image detection tools, which flagged it as “likely AI-generated” with very high confidence (e.g., 99 %). The output from platforms such as Sightengine, Hive Moderation and WasItAI shows scores near the top end for the “AI-generated” class. While the results may not demonstrate the actual result, these tools provide strong supporting evidence that the footage was created using artificial intelligence rather than captured by a real camera.

Meteorological Inconsistencies

A close examination of the video reveals several problems. The footage shows a plane apparently flying above the hurricane’s eye, looking down into a perfectly symmetrical, deep “funnel” of clouds, a view that doesn’t match how real hurricanes appear. In actual major hurricanes, the towering clouds around the eye (the “eyewall”) can reach heights of 50,000 feet (about 15 kilometers) or higher. This means an aircraft would typically be inside or below these clouds, not floating above them with a clear view down. NASA and the UK Met Office confirm that the powerful thunderstorm towers in such storms extend into the upper troposphere, well above where commercial planes normally fly.

Most commercial aircraft cruise at 30,000-42,000 feet, and even their maximum operational ceilings remain below the cloud-top heights you’d expect from a Category 5 hurricane. The video’s clean, “drain-like” spiral and the clear space above the storm are therefore unrealistic from a physics standpoint. Additionally, the uploader used AI video prompt phrases (such as “hurricane formation from airplane, view of hurricane from plane”), and the unnaturally perfect symmetry of the visual all point toward computer-generated imagery rather than real footage captured by a camera.

(Source: Met Office, FlightRadar)

Additional Context on Hurricane Melissa

Hurricane Melissa is a real and extremely powerful storm. According to the National Hurricane Center, it struck Jamaica on October 28, 2025, as a Category 5 hurricane, one of the most intense classifications possible. The storm brought sustained winds of approximately 185 mph and recorded a minimum central pressure near 892 millibars, ranking it among the strongest hurricanes ever to make landfall in the Atlantic.

The consequences in Jamaica have been severe: more than one-third of the population lost power, extensive structural damage occurred across multiple parishes (with one entire parish reported as “underwater”), and authorities issued warnings about “total building failures” in the hardest-hit regions. The storm also posed serious threats to neighboring islands, including Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Because Melissa moved slowly, these areas faced the risk of extreme rainfall, up to 30-40 inches (about 75-100 cm), along with severe flooding and potentially catastrophic landslides.

(Source: The Weather Channel, The Washington Post, apnews.com)

Although the viral footage is AI-generated, authentic footage from inside Hurricane Melissa’s eye does exist. U.S. Air Force “Hurricane Hunter” crews from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron recorded real footage on October 27. You can view that genuine footage below.

Conclusion

The viral video claiming to show an airplane flying through Hurricane Melissa’s eye is AI-generated and does not depict real footage. The clip originated from a TikTok creator channel that specializes in AI-generated content.