Hurricane Opal – Fort Walton Beach, FL – October 4, 1995
This is a sample of my Hurricane Opal chase footage. This video was taken during Opal’s landfall in the western Florida panhandle, at Fort Walton Beach, on October 4, 1995. A day prior to landfall, Hurricane Opal had strengthened rapidly to near Category Five intensity, with sustained winds of 150mph and a minimum central pressure of 916mb (27.05in). During the following twelve hours the storm steadily weakened, however, Opal was still a very large and powerful Category Three at landfall, with sustained winds of 125mph and a central pressure of 942mb (27.82in). Hurricane conditions begin at about 3min 30sec into the video and the eyewall occurs from 4min 50sec through 7min 40sec in. Peak winds at my location were sustained between 100-110mph with gusts to 140mph. The highest officially recorded surface wind in Opal was a gust to 144mph at Hurlburt Field, near Mary Esther, Florida, in southwest Okaloosa county, which was three miles west of my location. The highest storm surge at my location was approximately 13ft and with the ground elevation at 8-10ft above sea-level, this resulted in a surge depth of 3-5ft, with higher waves. The peak surge and maximum inundation occurs just prior to the eye/calm at about 9min 40sec into the video. Though the eastern edge of Opal’s eye did pass over my location, winds never fell below 20-30mph, I did record a minimum pressure of 960.3mb (28.36in) during this time.
Duration : 0:12:17
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1995, Cyclone, extreme, Florida, Hurricane, Hurricanes, Meteorology, Opal, Severe, storm, surge, Tropical, Typhoon, Weather, Wind
Hurricane Hugo (High Quality) – Luquillo, Puerto Rico – September 17-18, 1989
Between September 16th and 22nd, 1989 one of the most infamous and disasterous hurricanes in Atlantic history, Hugo, devastated portions of the Caribbean and South Carolina.
From the evening of the 17th through the morning of the 18th, the US Virgin Islands, and the northeastern tip of Puerto Rico bore the brunt of Hugo’s exceptional violence. Alongside the thousands of residents who suffered through the terrifying experience, a small group of veteran storm chasers, including myself, had the rare opportunity to document the full force of an intense hurricane, during daylight hours, at a direct coastal location.
At the time of Hugo’s landfall in Puerto Rico the storm was producing sustained winds near 130mph, with gusts over 160mph.
In commemoration of Hugo’s 20th anniversary I’m presenting a new, digitally re-mastered, high-quality DVD edition of my chase footage, including many previously unreleased scenes, new special features and extra content. This seven minute introductory clip showcases some of the highlights from the main feature.
Without actually experiencing an event of this magnitude, first-hand, it’s difficult to truly understand the incredible ferocity, unrelenting power, and somber aftermath a violent hurricane commands.
The new 20th anniversary commemorative edition DVD is dedicated to all those affected by Hurricane Hugo… to the meteorological, scientific, and storm chasing communities who strive to further our understanding of these amazing forces of nature… and to future generations who will carry the quest for knowledge forward.
Duration : 0:7:11
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1080i, 1080p, 130, 140, 150, 160, 1989, 20th, Anniversary, BD, Blu, Caribbean, carolina, catastrophe, Category, Charleston, Chase, chaser, chasing, Coastal, Cyclone, damage, Deadly, Defoliated, disaster, DVD, extreme, flood, flooding, Four, Heavy, High, Historic, history, Howling, Hugo, Hurricane, Island, Islands, Laca, Landfall, Michael, mph, Northeast, Palm, Palms, Puerto, Quality, rain, Ray, Record, Rican, Rico, September, South, spray, storm, Strong, surge, Three, Tree, Tropical, Uprooted, US, video, Violent, Virgin, Warning, Wave, waves, Wind, Winds
Hurricane Georges – Luquillo, Puerto Rico – Sep. 21, 1998
Hurricane Georges crossed the entire length of Puerto Rico on September 21, 1998. As the storm made landfall over the southeastern part of the island, I was able to intercept the northern eyewall in the town of Luquillo (the same location where I intercepted Hurricane Hugo nine years earlier). Although Georges had weakened significantly as it approached the Northeast Caribbean, the hurricane began to strengthen rapidly just before landfall in Puerto Rico. Georges was a Category Three with maximum sustained winds of 115mph and gusts between 130-140mph at landfall in Puerto Rico. Winds of 110mph with a peak gust of 130mph was recorded in Fajardo, very close to my location. The minimum central pressure at landfall in Puerto Rico was 968mb (28.59in).
Duration : 0:3:32
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1998, Cyclone, extreme, Georges, Hurricane, Hurricanes, Puerto, Rico, Severe, Storms, Tropical, Typhoon, Weather, Wind
Hurricane Wilma and ending chapter
http://www.hurricanetrack.com/posters/dvd2005.html
Hurricane Wilma was the last hurricane to hit the U.S. during the record 2005 hurricane season. This entire selection from our popular Tracking the Hurricanes: 2005 DVD covers the landfall of hurricane Wilma in SW Florida (Naples area). Our team was setting up remotely operated cameras to record the storm surge from Wilma in areas like Marco Island and Everglades City. The video takes you through the waiting process as Wilma was slow to move off of the Yucatan and make its way towards Florida. Then, on October 23 and in to the 24th, Wilma made her move and our project was a success. We managed to capture incredible video of the surge flooding Everglades City with 5 feet of water from two cameras fixed on a utility building in Everglades City. The video ends with a re-cap of the 2005 season and a quick look at the predictions for 2006- which as we know now, did not come to pass. The 2005 DVD is available for purchase at www.hurricanetrack.com
Duration : 0:23:47
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: chaser, Florida, Hurricane, James, lewis, mark, mike, naples, rain, storm, sudduth, surge, watkins, waves, Weather, Wilma, Wind
Hurricane Charley (and TS Bonnie)
http://www.hurricanetrack.com/posters/dvd2004.html
This is the second selection from our 2004 DVD “Tracking the Hurricanes: 2004″ that I have posted on YouTube. This video shows the extraordinary power of a category four hurricane: hurricane Charley. Our team first went down to Panama City Beach, FL for TS Bonnie and were ready a couple of days later for powerful hurricane Charley. The encounter was more than we could have ever expected and we were lucky to have come out with no damage or injuries. The bleeps you hear are exactly what you think they are- there was much cussing going on during the height of this harrowing experience.
Duration : 0:23:51
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: Charley, charlotte, chaser, damage, Florida, Hurricane, mark, orlando, port, storm, sudduth, tracking, Wind
Hurricane Andrew – Southeast Florida – August 24, 1992
This is my Hurricane Andrew chase video. The footage was taken during Andrew’s landfall on the Southeast Florida coast, at Coconut Grove, south of Miami. Though Andrew was extremely small, moving very quickly and made landfall about 15 miles to the south, my location was right at the edge of the hurricane’s northern eyewall. Unfortunately the entire peak of the storm was at night, however, using a portable spotlight, I was able to capture footage throughout the entire event. Even with the challenging video conditions, Andrew’s ferocity is clearly obvious in this footage. The roar of the wind is deafening, punctuated by breaking glass and other debris. Peak winds occur between 13 through 17 minutes into the video, and are sustained near 125-130mph with gusts near 150mph. The anemometer at the National Hurricane Center (about 2 miles west-southwest of my location) failed after recording a gust to 164mph. Based on post-analysis, Andrew is now estimated to have had sustained winds of 165mph with peak gusts near 200mph at landfall in South Florida, making it one of only three Category Five hurricanes ever to strike the United States.
Duration : 0:27:14
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1992, Andrew, Category, Cyclone, disaster, extreme, Five, Florida, Hurricane, Hurricanes, Severe, Storms, Tropical, Weather, Wind
Hurricane Hugo – Luquillo, Puerto Rico – September 18, 1989
This is my Hurricane Hugo chase video. The footage was taken during Hugo’s landfall on the northeast tip of Puerto Rico at Luquillo. In my 25 years of hurricane chasing, this remains, overall, the best footage I have ever been fortunate enough to capture. Though I have been in stronger hurricanes, given that Hugo was a borderline category three/four and the strongest portion of the eyewall passed directly over my location (during daylight hours), I had the rare opportunity to document the full force of an intense hurricane at a direct coastal location. Though significant damage begins about 8 minutes into the video, the peak winds occur between 10 through 21 minutes in, and are sustained near 130mph with gusts to 150-160mph. An anemometer on the island of Culebra (just offshore Eastern Puerto Rico) reported a peak gust of 170mph when the same portion of the eyewall passed over that location a couple of hours prior to reaching Luquillo.
Duration : 0:28:19
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1989, Andy, Caribbean, carolina, catastrophe, Chase, chaser, chasing, Culebra, Cyclone, disaster, Dressler, extreme, Eye, Eyewall, Historic, Hugo, Huracan, Hurricane, Hurricanes, Islands, Jim, Juan, Laca, Leonard, Luquillo, Michael, Puerto, Rico, San, Sea, Severe, South, Storms, Tropical, Typhoon, Vieques, Violent, Virgin, Weather, Wind
Hurricane Fran – Carolina Beach, NC – September 5, 1996
Hurricane Fran moves over Carolina Beach, North Carolina on the afternoon and evening of September 5, 1996. The storm made landfall directly over this area with maximum sustained winds of 115mph and a minimum central pressure of 954mb (28.17in).
Duration : 0:7:50
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: 1996, carolina, Cyclone, extreme, Fran, Hurricane, Hurricanes, North, Severe, storm, Storms, surge, Tropical, Typhoon, Weather, Wind
Hurricane Katrina Part One
http://www.hurricanetrack.com/posters/dvd2005.html
This segment is from my 2005 DVD entitled “Tracking the Hurricanes: 2005″. Here, in part one, I begin tracking hurricane Katrina with my colleague, Mike Watkins, in south Florida. From there, Mike and I head over to the coast of Mississippi to complete the mission of observing and documenting one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. However, the story does not end with landfall as we will see in part two.
Duration : 0:22:28
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: chaser, Florida, gulfport, Hurricane, katrina, mark, mike, mississippi, rain, storm, sudduth, surge, watkins, waveland, Wind
Hurricane Katrina Part Two
http://www.hurricanetrack.com/posters/dvd2005.html
This is the second part of the three part series of my Katrina documentary. This comes from my successful “Tracking the Hurricanes: 2005″ DVD which chronicles the landfalling U.S. hurricanes during the historic 2005 hurricane season.
In part two, the action really begins. It is now daytime on August 29, 2005 and Katrina is making landfall along the central Gulf Coast. I am in Gulfport, Mississippi working with colleague Mike Watkins. We are seeking refuge at a hotel near I-10 along hwy 49 in Gulfport. We have set up three remotely operated cameras down along the waterfront and are hoping to capture extraordinary video- as well as stream it live to the world. Little did we know that the storm surge would be so enormous that our three camera systems would be washed away- two of them lost forever. The third was found but human error prevented it from working properly. I shift my focus from finding the other missing “black boxes” to documenting the people of a hurricane-torn Mississippi. Part three will sum things up with a trip back to Mississippi 47 days after Katrina.
Duration : 0:22:33
Categories: Hurricanes Tags: Coast, gulf, gulfport, Hurricane, katrina, mississippi, storm, surge, Wind
