Hurricane Oscar, a surprisingly powerful but compact storm, is defying forecasts and posing a threat to the Turks and Caicos Islands, the southeastern Bahamas, and eastern Cuba. The storm, which was initially expected to remain a tropical storm, rapidly intensified into a hurricane, prompting a special advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Aircraft Reconnaissance Proves Crucial Hurricane Hunters flying into the storm found Oscar to be much stronger than anticipated, highlighting the importance of on-site aircraft observations. Satellite estimates had underestimated the storm’s intensity…