Hammy
05-05-2009, 12:20 AM
(sorry, long post ahead)
i live in E.C. Florida, where in 2004, we were hit with three hurricanes. i decided to drive in one. in 2004, as Hurricane Charley was passing about 15 miles to my NW, and i realized we werent going to be getting anything stronger than category 1 conditions, i decided to go out in it, and get some pictures and wind measurements. i parked on the indian river (a coastal waterway that runs the entire length of the east coast of Florida)(making a small miscalculation--i faced the car north (which was parallel to the wind and i had no shelter when i got out), took out my anemometer (the thing you see the guys on the news holding up in the wind), and got a sustained wind measurement of 79 mph (hurricane = 74+), got back in the car, and kept driving until powerlines began falling on teh road, which is when i decided to turn around and go back (unfortunately with the rain, teh film got ruined, but oh well, it was a $3 disposable camera)
we got the outer edge of Wilma in 2005, so i decided again to drive in it. first, on the way south, i had to go 20 mph on a highway because the rain was so bad i literally could only see about 10 feet in front of me
i went down to a hilly but occasionally low-lying road along the river, and as i was driving, i noticed at the bottom that a surge had been pushed onto the roadway, and there were white caps breaking in the yards across the street from the river. i turned around, headed home, and as i headed north, the south-bound road that i had just travelled 40 minutes earlier was covered in several feet of water, just from the rain (a truck drove through and the water was up to the window)
Charley as the worst was moving through (http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/floridaweather/20040813.png)
Wilma in 2005--i drove down far enough to be in the red area on there (http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/floridaweather/20051024.png)
i live in E.C. Florida, where in 2004, we were hit with three hurricanes. i decided to drive in one. in 2004, as Hurricane Charley was passing about 15 miles to my NW, and i realized we werent going to be getting anything stronger than category 1 conditions, i decided to go out in it, and get some pictures and wind measurements. i parked on the indian river (a coastal waterway that runs the entire length of the east coast of Florida)(making a small miscalculation--i faced the car north (which was parallel to the wind and i had no shelter when i got out), took out my anemometer (the thing you see the guys on the news holding up in the wind), and got a sustained wind measurement of 79 mph (hurricane = 74+), got back in the car, and kept driving until powerlines began falling on teh road, which is when i decided to turn around and go back (unfortunately with the rain, teh film got ruined, but oh well, it was a $3 disposable camera)
we got the outer edge of Wilma in 2005, so i decided again to drive in it. first, on the way south, i had to go 20 mph on a highway because the rain was so bad i literally could only see about 10 feet in front of me
i went down to a hilly but occasionally low-lying road along the river, and as i was driving, i noticed at the bottom that a surge had been pushed onto the roadway, and there were white caps breaking in the yards across the street from the river. i turned around, headed home, and as i headed north, the south-bound road that i had just travelled 40 minutes earlier was covered in several feet of water, just from the rain (a truck drove through and the water was up to the window)
Charley as the worst was moving through (http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/floridaweather/20040813.png)
Wilma in 2005--i drove down far enough to be in the red area on there (http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/floridaweather/20051024.png)