09L: Hurricane Ike

[Tim Marshall]

I encountered the same female police officer while trying to leave the island. Yes, she was a bit stern stating only that the road was impassible and I would not be allowed to proceed. She ordered me to turn around and drive back to the hotel where I came from, which I did. However, I can understand the situation especially since she likely had no sleep the night before, and her house might have been damaged by the hurricane. TM

 

[Dennis Sherrod]

Report:
Had difficulty getting off the island; even with media passes some police officers could not get off their power trip. I don't want to talk smack about all police, because a majority of police officers I have encountered during hurricane chases have been awesome, but there are some who are on major power trips! Every hurricane I have chased confirms to me as a storm chaser/meteorologist/photographer that the police are more dangerous than the hurricane, but that is because I have taken every possible precaution for the hurricane, but there is only so much I can do to protect myself from crazy police. The hurricane is of course more dangerous to the average person that knows little about the hurricane, but I've never been in the position that I've felt in danger from the effects of a hurricane.
Simon Brewer

I must agree with Steve Miller's assessments and comments concerning the interaction with the Police. Being involved with various aspects of hurricane, storm, and severe weather chasing for over 20 years, I cannot say that the Police are on a power trip by refusing to allow you or someone else to go past a certain point. By what you wrote, it seems you think that a "Media Pass" warrants certain special privileges to drive down a road.
A Police Officer is given discretion to act or not act, but, in that discretion, he / she may chose to allow or not allow someone to pass. Under safe conditions, a Police officer may allow certain Professional Courtesies to be extended to you, but is not a guarantee, nor a right. Since you most likely could not see far enough down the road to tell, I would gather you really don't know why you could not go through.
Since you feel that the police are more dangerous than a hurricane, you should probably stay at home or out of sight as there are many more Police than Hurricanes and you will be in a lot of danger.

 

[Nick Parker]

The remnant winds of Ike have been causing a lot of havoc around Canton, Ohio today. There are countless trees and wires down all over. Lots of people are without power, as well as some minor structural damage from trees on houses and buildings. This is deffinately one of the most intense windstorms I can remember.

Yea....here in So. ILL, there are tons of folks without power tonight. 15,000 or so just on AmerenUE's lines south of DuQuion, IL...(Including me on genny power and aircard) Looks to be another day or so since 6AM today yeehaa



Impressive shot of the remains of IKE as he passed just north of me.

 

[Tim Marshall]

Anyone know of any good archived radar or satellite loops of IKE? TM

 

[rdale]

Radar - http://mesonet.tamu.edu/products/

 

[mark humpage]

Stu and I are still in Austin awaiting our flights back to UK (We had to drive here to get a motel with power). Houston going nowhere today so fingers crossed tomorrow.

I'd just like to thank all the fellow chasers we met in and around ground zero at San Luis for the rapport, the company and sharing the experience. A special mention to George K and the guys for the bacon rashers. You will never know how good that single rasher of warm crispy tasted after that night in the flooded parking lot.

Images from the chase here - http://www.elementalproject.co.uk/projects/hurricane/photos/

Till the next one.

Mark ('An Englishman in New York')

 

[jeremy wilson]

A special mention to George K and the guys for the bacon rashers. You will never know how good that single rasher of warm crispy tasted after that night in the flooded parking lot.

What's a bacon rasher? Whatever it is I bet it was mighty tasty after a night like that.

 

[Van DeWald]

Jeff,

Thanks for the image evidence of the destruction, before versus after. I'd suggest that's pretty compelling evidence that anyone that stayed behind in those homes surely would have faced certain death. Perhaps the strong wording was justified. I believe that was the original intent of the message, not that everyone would face certain death, but only those directly on the coastline in those stilt homes.

 

[rdale]

I believe that was the original intent of the message, not that everyone would face certain death, but only those directly on the coastline in those stilt homes.

That is not backed up by the facts though... A quick perusal of the products issued would show you the intent.

 

[Brett Wallace]

300,000 households in the metro louisville area without power, including my parent's home. it was the worst power outage to hit the metro area in 30 years. it was worse than the 1974 outbreak, but i guess that one was very localized?
i know louisville international airport reported gusts of 75mph and the airport itself was temporarily shut down. I-65 and I-71 were shut down for some time both north- and southbound due to trees.
didn't really feel like it was worthy posting in the hurricane ike post storm reports. they were all about the worst damage in houston...

 

[Simon Brewer]

I must agree with Steve Miller's assessments and comments concerning the interaction with the Police. Being involved with various aspects of hurricane, storm, and severe weather chasing for over 20 years, I cannot say that the Police are on a power trip by refusing to allow you or someone else to go past a certain point. By what you wrote, it seems you think that a "Media Pass" warrants certain special privileges to drive down a road.
A Police Officer is given discretion to act or not act, but, in that discretion, he / she may chose to allow or not allow someone to pass. Under safe conditions, a Police officer may allow certain Professional Courtesies to be extended to you, but is not a guarantee, nor a right. Since you most likely could not see far enough down the road to tell, I would gather you really don't know why you could not go through.
Since you feel that the police are more dangerous than a hurricane, you should probably stay at home or out of sight as there are many more Police than Hurricanes and you will be in a lot of danger.

This is pointless, but I never said a media pass made me a God, I should never have mentioned media pass, what I should have mentioned was that people were leaving the island, the Govenor had already made a statement saying people were allowed to leave the island, but the 'male' not female officer I ran into did not give a ****. Also, when I went on my little rant about the dangers of police, it was not really even about that incident, but about many previous incidents from everyother hurricane chase I've experienced. Believe it or not, but there are good cops and bad cops, just like there are good people and bad people. I encounter both good cops and bad cops when chasing and I'll say it again; bad police concern me more than the worst hurricane as a storm chaser. I'm not talking about some road block; some police have a shoot first ask questions later mentallity and until you've witnessed it yourself, or had friends or family fall victim to it then you have nothing to say.

 

[David Demko]

Ohio Valley Wind Event

300,000 households in the metro louisville area without power, including my parent's home. it was the worst power outage to hit the metro area in 30 years. it was worse than the 1974 outbreak, but i guess that one was very localized?
i know louisville international airport reported gusts of 75mph and the airport itself was temporarily shut down. I-65 and I-71 were shut down for some time both north- and southbound due to trees.
didn't really feel like it was worthy posting in the hurricane ike post storm reports. they were all about the worst damage in houston...

Similar observations to report as Brett. This was one crazy event! My folks in Owensboro, KY (about 90 mi WSW of Louisville) report the most widespread, significant wind damage they have ever witnessed in the area.

It appears that warm, dry air was drawn around the south/southeast side of Ike's large remnant low/mid-level circulation as it was picked up by a mid-latitude trough and accelerated northeast. Breaks in the clouds allowed for insolation sufficient enough to establish a deep boundary layer and lead to significant transport of momentum from 500m-2000m AGL (where flow ranged from 60 to nearly 90 knots at times) down to the surface. The 18Z sounding from Wilmington, OH Sunday afternoon captured this environment very well.

The result was a widespread swath of wind damage (absent of any precipitation) from southeast Missouri up the Ohio River through southern Indiana, western and northern Kentucky, and into Ohio. Sustained winds of 45-50 MPH with gusts over 70 MPH were commonplace. Several counties in Kentucky are under states of emergency at this time with hundreds of thousands out of power.

One irony about the whole situation is that many of the local electric utilities in the Ohio Valley sent crews down to Texas to assist in the recovery there...leaving local operations shorthanded after one of the most significant, widespread damaging wind events of at least the last 30 years. It's hard to see how power won't remain out in these areas for several days, if not longer.

 

[Simon Brewer]

Similar observations to report as Brett. This was one crazy event! My folks in Owensboro, KY (about 90 mi WSW of Louisville) report the most widespread, significant wind damage they have ever witnessed in the area.

It appears that warm, dry air was drawn around the south/southeast side of Ike's large remnant low/mid-level circulation as it was picked up by a mid-latitude trough and accelerated northeast. Breaks in the clouds allowed for insolation sufficient enough to establish a deep boundary layer and lead to significant transport of momentum from 500m-2000m AGL (where flow ranged from 60 to nearly 90 knots at times) down to the surface. The 18Z sounding from Wilmington, OH Sunday afternoon captured this environment very well.

The result was a widespread swath of wind damage (absent of any precipitation) from southeast Missouri up the Ohio River through southern Indiana, western and northern Kentucky, and into Ohio. Sustained winds of 45-50 MPH with gusts over 70 MPH were commonplace. Several counties in Kentucky are under states of emergency at this time with hundreds of thousands out of power.

One irony about the whole situation is that many of the local electric utilities in the Ohio Valley sent crews down to Texas to assist in the recovery there...leaving local operations shorthanded after one of the most significant, widespread damaging wind events of at least the last 30 years. It's hard to see how power won't remain out in these areas for several days, if not longer.

Many family members called and reported the same widespread damage in the Dayton, Cincinnati, Wilmington, and Xenia areas. They were freaking out like the end of the world had arrived... lol.

 

[David Drummond]

This is pointless, but I never said a media pass made me a God, I should never have mentioned media pass, what I should have mentioned was that people were leaving the island, the Govenor had already made a statement saying people were allowed to leave the island, but the 'male' not female officer I ran into did not give a ****. Also, when I went on my little rant about the dangers of police, it was not really even about that incident, but about many previous incidents from everyother hurricane chase I've experienced. Believe it or not, but there are good cops and bad cops, just like there are good people and bad people. I encounter both good cops and bad cops when chasing and I'll say it again; bad police concern me more than the worst hurricane as a storm chaser. I'm not talking about some road block; some police have a shoot first ask questions later mentallity and until you've witnessed it yourself, or had friends or family fall victim to it then you have nothing to say.

Well, if I were repeatedly having similar grossly negative issues with law enforcement on my chases, and other storm chasers were reporting a completely opposite experience, I might start looking at what the common denominator is in each incident.

 

[Simon Brewer]

Well, if I were repeatedly having similar grossly negative issues with law enforcement on my chases, and other storm chasers were reporting a completely opposite experience, I might start looking at what the common denominator is in each incident.

Apparently you guys didn't read when I wrote, "a majority of police officers I have encountered during hurricane chases have been awesome". This is the last I'll mention this topic. My rant was meant to give some information to future hurricane chasers to beware and stay clear of the very few, but they are there whether you are blind or not, police officers abusing authority. Many chasers I've known and I'm not going to start throwing names into the pointless soup agree and have had numerous experiences. I've never had a single problem when chasing tornadoes, but I know some on this message board have had a negative experience or two. Sad that some people on here go out of their way to handout rediculous personal attacks at someone dishing out information.