The CycloneOz Hurricane Hunter & Storm Chaser Lounge

Last Updated: 9:24 AM GMT on August 31, 2009 — Last Comment: 5:36 PM GMT on October 20, 2009

	All About Bill

Posted by: CycloneOz, 9:24 AM GMT on August 31, 2009

You've got to give them their props!

The National Hurricane Center absolutely nailed the track for Hurricane Bill from beginning to end.

But on August 18th, 2009 when Bill was still well south in the Atlantic...there was some doubt about the track...in particular...how close it would get to Bermuda. Since I was dealing with the unknown, I booked passage to South Florida with a day-later transfer to an island nation I had never seen in person. If Bill were to pay Bermuda a visit, I'd be there to intercept it.

Fellow hurricane hunter, John Scott (aka hurricanejunky) and his wife Ruth picked me up at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport when I landed on the 19th and we spent the day in Key West, FL. One of the coolest things we saw was the remnant low of Tropical Storm Ana disintegrate right before our very eyes. We got some great time lapse video of that event, too!

We also fired up the live hurricane webcam for the 1st time and broadcast for several hours as we wound our way around beautiful Key West. During that time, junky and I talked about a great many things, including the prospects for the 2009 Miami Dolphins. Our common agreement on that subject was simply..."GO FINZ!!!"

It's a very long drive from Key West to Ft. Lauderdale and we left early in the evening to ensure I'd get to the airport on time for my flight to Bermuda. It was an uneventful drive...but I spiced things up by giving junky a grape flavored 6-hour Power Shot. He loved it...and if you haven't tried one, you really should. They're fairly awesome!!!

My flight to Bermuda on the 20th took me through Philadelphia. It was a speedy layover, and when I got to my gate, I found that I was almost totally alone. I asked the gate attendant why so few people were booked on this flight. His reply..."Not many people want to be in a hurricane, mate." With that, I had to agree. It's actually a pretty crazy thing me and the other hunters do...the intercepting hurricanes thing...but it is so interesting and exciting. I'm compelled to do it...as are the others.

When I landed in Bermuda, customs got a hold of me and would not let go. Apparently, you have to have a hotel booking already in place before you arrive...otherwise...they sock you away in immigration until you find a place. Thankfully, the nice lady running the show helped me find a relatively inexpensive hotel for my stay.

Once I was "released from custody," I caught a taxi to St. George's. That is where my hotel, "Aunt Nea's" was located. The ride in the cab almost made me lose my lunch. Besides driving on the wrong side of the road, Bermudian commuters also drive very fast. Now, if the roads were wide...okay. But all of Bermuda is interlaced with some of the narrowest roads on Earth. Narrow, fast, wrong-sided...UrrrrrP!!!! Excuse me!

I was very happy with my hotel. They put me into a cottage that had once been a garage, but they had done such a nice job of renovating it, you'd never know it once housed cars. The owner, Aunt Nea's son...Mr. Robinson' was a former Member of Parliment. He is such a nice man and helped me often. I would vote for him to be an MP again for sure!

I was exhausted when Friday dawned, and I knew a full day of work was ahead of me, so I resigned myself to just suck it up and hang tough. My first order of business was to catch a bus to Elbow Beach which was way on the other side of the island. The bus rides were as harrowing as the taxi trip was the day before, and I got off at Elbow Beach sea-sick...but luckily, the wave of nausea passed quickly.

I spent many hours at that location which Jim Cantore of "The Weather Channel" had chosen for his point of broadcast. Great wave action was present, as were some crazy people who decided to brave the wild surf and the ever present rip that accompanies big waves.

It was early in the afternoon when I left Elbow Beach for points west. However, the first bus by was packed and there was no room for me. That started me wondering...what were all the locals doing on a mid-afternoon bus? When the next bus came, I barely was able to get on it, as it was almost full as well. The driver asked me, "What are you doin', man?" I told her I was a hurricane hunter. Then she asked, "Where are you stayin'?" When I replied "St. George's" many of the passengers on the bus started yelling at the driver to get me off! What's up with that, I thought. Then it became very clear to me. I was headed west, and my home was east...way way east. And they were shutting down the bus service and closing the bridges and causeway.

OMG! I began to panic, because panic is always an option. But luckily, the bus driver hailed down an east bound bus and shoved me on it. The driver, Ivan...agreed to help me get home. And to my delight, he also helped me get some of my most spectacular footage of the day. The highlight, my National Geographic shot of me standing at Grotto Bay with hurricane lightning in the clouds above me, was the best. Ivan also told me the local history of the villages we passed through on our way back to St. George's. It's funny how things work out when you're an idiot.

As evening fell, I put on my CycloneOz Hurricane Suit (Category 1 configuration) and proceeded to St. George's Harbor...a short walk from Aunt Nea's. As soon as I got off the hotel walkway and stepped on the road, a big hurricane force gust passed down the narrow street and snapped a tree limb above me. It was a substantial limb and it crashed down on top of me...hitting me squarely on my helmet and right shoulder pad! The limb harmlessly bounced down to the ground and I stood there for many moments looking down at it in awe. I was completely unhurt, not a scratch!

At the harbor, all hell was breaking loose. Great gobs of water sprayed skyward against the seawalls and were immediately shot forward by the steady, heavy wind. I spent the entire night there and got some incredible footage of what can only be described as "devil waters."

After Hurricane Bill passed the island, I went home and collapsed in bed. It had been over 26-hours since I had last slept...so I immediately lost consciousness and didn't fully recover until Sunday afternoon. I left Bermuda on Monday and finally got home late Tuesday night.

Today is now Monday morning, August 31st. It's 2:30 AM and I'm sitting at a Waffle House near the Albuquerque Airport. I'm taking a plane to Cabo San Lucas and will arrive there at noon local time. Tomorrow, Tuesday...Hurricane Jimena is predicted to hit that area with Category 4 winds and surge.

Just thinking about it scares the hell out of me. Even though I have packed the Category 5 version of the CycloneOz Hurricane Suit, 150 mph winds and accompanying tidal surge and rain will scare anyone with sense. And since I've been in many bad hurricanes in the past, I know just how dangerous and deadly these intense storms can be.

Mary, mother of God...pray for me.

CycloneOz---

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	Gear Pictures and Possible Landfall Scenario

Posted by: CycloneOz, 2:11 AM GMT on June 28, 2009

Hello Bloggers! :)Welcome to the CycloneOz Hurricane Hunter & Storm Chaser Lounge!I'm ready to travel...and so is my gear! I've taken some pictures from behind the local fire station here in Los Alamos, NM. Ironically, this is the same fire station where I was to be hosed down with two (2) 250-psi streams of water to test my hurricane gear, but in the 11th-hour, the county safety people cancelled the test. Their concern was that I might get hurt. Hmmmm.Anyway...let'...

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	XtremeTeam of XtremeHurricanes.com Ready To Travel

Posted by: CycloneOz, 12:51 AM GMT on June 27, 2009

As of 6/26/2009, there is strong interest in a tropical wave that is flaring up in the western Caribbean. (See Figure 1.)With up to a 50% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone, and a projected track that could take it into the western gulf coast of Florida, the XtremeTeam at XtremeHurricanes.com is making preparations this weekend to travel to a possible U.S. hurricane landfall.Preparations are not easy. There is a ton of weather gear that must be stowed as w...

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	Possible Landfall Scenario - TAMPA BAY, FL

Posted by: CycloneOz, 5:20 PM GMT on June 04, 2009

What is a Category 4 hurricane makes landfall in Tampa?NOAA has run a model on storm surge predictions should the greater Tampa area experience a Category 4 hurricane. Their model is sobbering in that many districts in the region would literally be under water for a time. [Refer to Figure 1.]Figure 1 - NOAA Storm Surge Model - Tampa, FL - Cat 4Upon arriving in the Tampa area, the Xtreme team's first order of business will be to deploy the Remote Hurricane Weather St...

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Updated: 2:11 AM GMT on June 28, 2009

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	My Predictions for Gustav 2008

Posted by: CycloneOz, 3:54 AM GMT on August 26, 2008

Many things influence a tropical storm's eventual strength and track. An overly simplified list of variables is:1) Strength is determined by wind shear and/or water temperature.2) Track is determined by pressure gradients and/or jet stream.When I hunt hurricanes, I'm certainly interested in how strong it may become. But of most importance to me is where the thing is going.StormW has offered a look at his methods in storm prediction. Since I've been pretty successful...