Dolly footage @ Port Isabel

[Stratosphere747]

Just wanted to pass along a bit of Dolly footage that was on The Weather Channel. For those that don't already know - I chased Dolly with Josh M. of icyclone.com in Port Isabel. We are in the maroon sedan that comes into view around the 17sec mark and from the readings of the other chase vehicle, winds were around 84mph.

Scott

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLsyu3bIsaI

[JonathanBelles]

wow! Im glad your ok, I certainly wouldnt have been out there.

[Smurfwicked]

Cool, but it doesn't seem like a "sedan" of any kind would be the best thing to go hurricane chasing with.

[Stratosphere747]

Cool, but it doesn't seem like a "sedan" of any kind would be the best thing to go hurricane chasing with.

A SUV would have been our first choice though surprisingly AUS was completely out of them.

We had no intentions of driving into any floodwaters and the style of car was never an issue.

[micktooth]

Great footage, thanks! Glad you are ok. Were those "waves" in the parking lot? Seeing this footage reminds me of why I left New Orleans for the high ground of Colorado!

[Cyclone1]

"I hope florida get hit this year"

First comment on the video. I replied...

[Category 5]

"I hope florida get hit this year"

First comment on the video. I replied...

So did I .

Awesome video!

[boca]

I'm surprised that the driver could actually see out the window. Great footage.

[Stratosphere747]

Great footage, thanks! Glad you are ok. Were those "waves" in the parking lot? Seeing this footage reminds me of why I left New Orleans for the high ground of Colorado!

Yes.

The Bay between Port Isabel and South Padre was just behind us and to the right of the car. We have some great footage of the waves crashing into the parking lot during the height of the storm.

[JonathanBelles]

Do you guys have video of the eye?

[Dean4Storms]

Pulling in down wind of those those Palm Trees was not the smartest chase decision I've seen, you guys could have had a Palm Trunk on top of ya.

Be careful.

[TheShrimper]

When you see a mature Sabal Palm snapped or uprooted by sub 100 MPH winds, take a picture of it and e-mail me. TheShrimper.

[yzerfan]

Cool, but it doesn't seem like a "sedan" of any kind would be the best thing to go hurricane chasing with.

A SUV would have been our first choice though surprisingly AUS was completely out of them.

We had no intentions of driving into any floodwaters and the style of car was never an issue.

If you're not worried about water, a lower profile vehicle like a sedan is actually better in high wind conditions- lower center of gravity makes it harder for the wind to roll it.

[Stratosphere747]

Do you guys have video of the eye?

Close but not quite.

We were squarely in the SW eyewall and were able to get some great footage. We briefly thought about trying to move N towards the Port Mansfield area but quickly dismissed that idea with the slow movement of the storm and the obvious flooding issues that were quickly developing on any route in that direction.

[southerngale]

When you see a mature Sabal Palm snapped or uprooted by sub 100 MPH winds, take a picture of it and e-mail me. TheShrimper.

We don't have Sabal Palms in Texas, so the chances of Dolly snapping or uprooting one of those are pretty slim.

If you just like to look at snapped or uprooted trees from hurricanes though, here's one in South Bluff Park from Dolly:




You can find many more pics of snapped or uprooted trees from other hurricanes here on Storm2k, or by doing a google search. It would probably be faster than having someone email them to you.



And Scott... awesome video. Glad you're ok!!

[bvigal]

Scott, that was scary, especially the last frame, which almost hints that something awful happened. Glad you are OK!!

Right below that video on my youtube screen was another with good old Jim Cantori, and I just had to laugh at the DRAMA. Do they shoot him up with something, or is that all natural adrenaline and testosterone?

[Stratosphere747]

And Scott... awesome video. Glad you're ok!!

Thanks Kelly. We should have our personal footage up soon.

[Stratosphere747]

Scott, that was scary, especially the last frame, which almost hints that something awful happened. Glad you are OK!!

Right below that video on my youtube screen was another with good old Jim Cantori, and I just had to laugh at the DRAMA. Do they shoot him up with something, or is that all natural adrenaline and testosterone?

You bring up a good point...

In the footage that Josh shot, you will never see either one of us out in the middle of the storm nor will you hear much audio from either one of us. To much of the footage that you now see has the newscasters or chasers out in the storm making themselves the focal point and not the actual storm itself.

It's dangerous enough as it is chasing a hurricane without trying to get out in front of a camera and showing how intense the winds are.

Keep in mind also that the youtube footage is shot by another chaser in Port Isabel. The actual footage from Josh probably will not be up on his site till early next week.

[TheShrimper]

Southerngale, if you do not think there are sabal palms in Texas, Google "Texas Sabal Palm" and see what you get. That said, when you find out you were wrong, I will bet you a thousand dollars that the trees in the video are indeed that. So once again, if you see one on the ground, e-mail me. I got my deposit slip ready, I am just waiting for the check to arrive.

[southerngale]

Southerngale, if you do not think there are sabal palms in Texas, Google "Texas Sabal Palm" and see what you get. That said, when you find out you were wrong, I will bet you a thousand dollars that the trees in the video are indeed that. So once again, if you see one on the ground, e-mail me. I got my deposit slip ready, I am just waiting for the check to arrive.

Well, excuuuse me. I guess we don't have them here. I thought Sabal Palms were mostly found in the S.E. U.S. And I can't tell if those are sabal palms in the video, with all the heavy rain coming down sideways, it's a little hard to make out. I don't really care, though. The hurricane knocked down trees. Not really a surprise. Anyway, I don't live down there, so I won't see one on the ground.