HIRT safe- but never doing THAT again....EVER

[hurricanetrack]

The crew of the Hurricane Intercept Research Team is safe- but just barely. We were just west of Port Charlotte and several miles north of Punta Gorda at the overpass of exit 170 on I-75. We set up our equipment atop of the Chevy Tahoe by around 2:30pm. At 4:32pm or so we took a wind gust to 127 mph just as the eyewall came over our location. Rocks began pelting the vehicle- trees were being ripped apart and the rain was just like an intense car wash- virtually no visibility. We used the overpass as a shelter and there were several other vehicles under there as well- people stuck out in the hurricane.

The wind increased as signs and wood pieces flew by. Trees continued to shred and rip apart. Then- we saw an entire building come apart and its whole roof fly through the air and impact the embankment of the Interstate. At this point the rain coming around the overpass embankment turned muddy- filled with soil. It was roaring so loud that we could not hear ourselves talk. More rocks hit the Tahoe. Then a monster gust hit us and blinded us all with muddy, wind driven rain. This kept on for about 15 to 20 minutes until it let up just for a few seconds.

I could see behind me to our west where a bright light shone through the clouds- like it was clearing out. But this was west of us by a good ways- not just down the street. It was coming from the direction Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Just then- the biggest gust of the day hit us extremely hard- we heard crashing sounds, glass breaking and all sorts of debris hitting the truck. It was total fury with no visibility at all. The truck was surrounded in blasting wind and debirs. Then- in a matter of seconds, literally, only 3 to 5 seconds, it came to an immediate halt. ZERO wind. The clear spot opened up right over us as the eye passed over head. People got out of their cars and screamed from fear and exhilaration. I grabbed my camera and got out to take a look to our east. I could see the eyewall moving away rapidly- and then a little bit of sunshine broke out.

There was an eerie calm and the pressure kepy dropping to 944.3 mb on our vehicle. I ran up the concrete embankment of the overpass to peak over to the area where there was a hotel and several buildings. The scene was unreal. Large trees was gone, wood was scattered everywhere, light towers were snapped off and large pieces of building and roof material were impacted into the I-75 embankment. Again- I could hear people yelling out and hollering just to release their tension.

Within 5 minutes, the other side of the eyewall passed through. It was almost as bad and came up within just a few minutes. Winds quickly reached 117 mph on the Tahoe with plenty of readings over 100. The pressure rose very quickly as the eye left and the eyewall came back over. We endured another 30 minutes of pure hell once again and then the wind let up enough to see.

As things calmed down- we drove around the immediate area and saw entire buildings collapsed and destroyed. Large street lights were pulled out of the concrete and thrown onto the stoplight powerlines. Cell phone towers were shredded but not toppled. There was debris and glass everywhere. Entire trees were ripped out of the ground and dragged across the pavement. It was an intense event to say the least.

I am now a true believe at the power of the wind. I have seen storm surge and avoid that at all costs- but now that I have been through the eyewall of a category 4 hurricane, I will never place myself in that position again. And to know how many people died as a result of this hurricane is such a sad situation. I survived but only because nothing impacted the truck hard enough to cause injury to me or my crew. Luck is the reason we are okay.

So now I face the future of my hurricane field work. After what I went through with my team- I will not be in the core of a major hurricane ever again. I have been fascinated with hurricanes ever since I was a child and this was far worse than anything I could have ever imagined. I have a solution to the problem of wanting the data and the images without putting lives at risk. I will unveil this solution on my website next week. It was not ready for this mission otherwise I would have used it. I assure you it will be ready for the next major hurricane.

I will post video and data from our mission on HurricaneTrack.com as soon as I can next week. We have a data log of the wind up until one of the anemometers was taken out by debris. This will be an event that I'll never forget. And I am very thankful to be alive.

Mark

[GulfHills]

I kept up with you guys....so glad you posted this. Absolutely amazing! Thank God you are safe. I'm sitting here crying, just can't believe the devastation, and loss of life.

[southerngale]

What an amazing story. It's a miracle you even survived that! Thanks for sharing your harrowing experience with the rest of us.

It's so sad that others didn't fare so well.

[ChaserUK]

Thank God your OK guys and a totally amazing account.

[Lindaloo]

Glad you and your crew came out of this unhurt!

Hopefully your experience will assure people to heed all watches and warnings in the future.

[goodlife]

I saw your video clips from when you were under that overpass...I imagine it WAS pretty scary.
Very glad you're safe and look forward to seeing the pictures you guys put up.
Jesse has some awesome pictures on his site of past storms, etc. Would ya tell him I said so??

[Stormsfury]

Mark, I'm glad you and your crew are safe and sound ... and I know what you experienced first hand ... I went through Hugo back in 1989, and let me tell you that I can relate just how scary the experience was ...

Again, glad you're back safe and sound ...

SF

[scogor]

Mark, what a chilling synopsis!! Thank goodness you made it back safely!

[furluvcats]

Amazing...your story leaves me speechless and with many goosebumps. So glad you are all OK...thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[bfez1]

Thank God you all made it back safely.
Some people just do not realize what devastating things a hurricane can do. My heart goes out to all of the people affected by this "killer" storm.

[stormchazer]

Glad you guys are safe. Your story should be sent to any future idiot who choses to "ride a storm out" when told to evacuate. God bless!

[Agua]

These things are nothing to play with. I realize some people have legitimate research that they undertake, but there's no question a lot of this stuff is thrill seeking under the guise of "research". People just do not comprehend how terrible these storms can be.

I hope your words sink in with those who have far less experience than you and are foolish enough to seek going into one of those monsters.

[Steve Cosby]

Your story should be sent to any future idiot who choses to "ride a storm out" when told to evacuate. God bless!

My underlying fear to what you have done is that people will see that you rode it out in a Tahoe under an overpass.

Here in the midwest, tornado chasing is now a sport. Tornados are closer to a "point" but they are, of course, unpredictable and can bite you on the butt.

God help those that might see your activity and decide to do the same thing with hurricanes that are done with tornadoes. (By the way, who was in the Ford Excursion under the overpass with you? Another chaser?)

Last, you were under an overpass. The Oklahoma City weather office did a big public study to tell people DON'T take shelter under an overpass. This was done after another media type rode an F2 tornado out under an overpass and survived. There are pictures in this study of the overpasses in Moore after the F5 1999 tornado. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/papers/overpass/slide07.html You can see the outlines of the people who were under there.

Anyway, the point? I sincerely hope that you have learned your lesson and that others won't be inclined to follow your lead.

That said, you probably now have the best data out there regarding this event. You allude to a remote unit for later - I believe the Toto units in the midwest only scored one direct hit in a tornado over the years they were being used.

[Pebbles]

Your story should be sent to any future idiot who choses to "ride a storm out" when told to evacuate. God bless!

My underlying fear to what you have done is that people will see that you rode it out in a Tahoe under an overpass.

Here in the midwest, tornado chasing is now a sport. Tornados are closer to a "point" but they are, of course, unpredictable and can bite you on the butt.

God help those that might see your activity and decide to do the same thing with hurricanes that are done with tornadoes. (By the way, who was in the Ford Excursion under the overpass with you? Another chaser?)

Last, you were under an overpass. The Oklahoma City weather office did a big public study to tell people DON'T take shelter under an overpass. This was done after another media type rode an F2 tornado out under an overpass and survived. There are pictures in this study of the overpasses in Moore after the F5 1999 tornado. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/papers/overpass/slide07.html You can see the outlines of the people who were under there.

Anyway, the point? I sincerely hope that you have learned your lesson and that others won't be inclined to follow your lead.

That said, you probably now have the best data out there regarding this event. You allude to a remote unit for later - I believe the Toto units in the midwest only scored one direct hit in a tornado over the years they were being used.

I am not taking sides and not going to render any thoughts on if the correct actions were taken...just wanted to point out that Hurricanes and Tornados are COMPLETELY different. A toto type unit actually may work extremely well in Hurricanes That way those that are doing research can get the info they need/want and yet not be in harms way. I am all for a portable type device and if it could possibly relay info...would be a bonus.

[Tommedic]

I know Becki is happy to know you are safe. We appreciate all the work you have done. Tom

[LaPlaceFF]

Thank God you made it through the storm.

[LAwxrgal]

Wow! What an unbelievable experience! Thanks for sharing it with us and glad to hear you are safe!

[mf_dolphin]

Since hurricanes cover such a large area in comparison to tornados a Toto type unit is entirely feasible. After all we all track these things for day Mark, thank God you and your team are safe! You have looked into the eye of the beast and survived. Those of us that have had that experience understand completely what you're feeling. No amount of video or data is worth a life.

[Rainband]

Glad your safe Mark

[simplykristi]

Glad you and your team are safe, Mark! Reading your account was chilling.

Kristi