What’s the advantage of turboprops over jets when sticking your planedick into the giant storm vagina
I can think of a few reasons...
Turboprops combine the efficiency of the Brayton cycle while eliminating the downsides of a faster turbojet or turbofan. They don't have to be particularly fast, and when combined with the levels of turbulence that they encounter, a slower aircraft is better. Penetrating the storm above maneuvering speed risks an in-flight breakup, whereas a slower aircraft penetrating a storm below maneuvering speed only risks a stall in the event of an upset. Pilots are taught how to handle aerodynamic stalls very early on when learning how to fly and at altitude they're not nearly as dangerous as they sound.
They're also more efficient when loitering at low altitudes, which they do. A lot. Their entire mission profile is to chase hurricanes and penetrate them at low altitudes. They're not so much airplanes as they are flying laboratories.
The last guess I have has to do with the quicker response to power changes. Flying around storms is not fun....it requires planning, but often you don't get a chance to plan very far in the moment because an active convective system is by its very nature, dynamic. You need to be able to think on your feet and change plans when things aren't going well. Having the ability to adjust engine power and blade pitch angle quicker than dumping fuel and waiting for a massive turbofan to spin up helps the pilots make decisions faster and stay ahead of the airplane.
I also don't know about how the intake on the C-130 or P-3 Orion is set up, but if a turbofan ingests too much water, or hail, or airframe ice, etc. it can lead to a compressor stall and kill the engine. I don't know if the turbine intake on these jets are set up to mitigate this since they're modified to take the brunt of a hurricane in other ways, but I wouldn't be suprised.
