Chasing Dennis

[Mike Mezeul II]

Hey everyone,
I was just curious who will be going after Dennis when it makes landfall? Darin Brunin and I are hoping to make the drive down to intercept this thing, but unfortunatily neither of us know too much about hurricane intercepting. We are trying to maybe find someone who's intercepted a few hurricanes before to meet up with.

 

[MClarkson]

Ill be going after this one only if it is looks to be large and it looks like it will come ashore durring the day. Im in boston at the moment... that meens a flight to say atlanta or maybe houston.... and still a long drive after that.

bring lots of extra gas... you can never have too much gas.

My biggest concern last year was not getting arrested. The mobile AL cops especially were real dicks.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

I think I might end up heading down there. I will know for sure tomorrow. This is going to be my first hurricane so I don't know much about intercepting them. I have been worried about dealing with the cops down there. I would be a little more than pissed off if I drove all the way down there only to be escorted out by the police.

 

[MClarkson]

I think we chose a poor initial position for ivan though... We were right next to this sign thats like 'sheriffs station, next right'.

wont be doing that again. Ive been going over ways to avoid police interference like what occured durring ivan. The more weather related stuff thats sticking out the top of your vehicle or painted on the sides will probably help to convince them to leave you alone, if they happen to find you. Your best bet is to not be seen, I think. Also positions that contain few commercial buildings would meen cops are less concerned about you being a potential looter. And if its daytime thats a big plus too i bet.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Originally posted by Michael Gribble
I would be a little more than pissed off if I drove all the way down there only to be escorted out by the
police.

From the initial contacts I have made since I'm hired out for this, if Dennis hits the same area as Ivan, your SOL if your going to try to get near
the area.

From what I have been hearing, with the amount of destruction from Ivan, here is the scoop. If you don't live there, part of the government
search and rescue, law enforcement, A Government Research such as the DOWS and or your a real verifiable employed member of the media with real documentation that can be verified to back it up saying your suppose to be there for work to cover the story, you will be hauled off to a government locked down shelter.

If you have not already been through a major hurricane and your not going with someone that is experienced, your chances of getting hurt or
killed are high. If you do go and you do need help, your own your own.

There is NO 911 in the middle of a hurricane.

All you can do if your able to get a signal out when your in trouble is record your last words on tape like several people did in 2004.

For those of you thinking about making bogus press passes, if your caught, you will be arrested. Last year during Hurricane Jeanne, another
chaser from Nebraska whose first name is Chris, was in the same area as us during the eye of the storm. When the cops asked him who he
was and what he was doing there, he gave them a B.S. story. When they asked me a few minutes later, I thought they were talking about
Chris Colura from the weathervine group who was standing right next to me, and the cops said no, the other guy over there. When I told the
cops that the other Chris was some storm chaser from Nebraska down here just to be in the storm, they cuffed him for lying and for being out
during the curfew.

This is NOT A SUPER CELL CHASE. This is Moore OK 1999 but the whole state of OK for the size of the mess. If you don't know what your doing and not going with a group of people that have been through several hurricanes before, stay home because this is more dangerous then anything you can imagine since the area that its going to hit already
took a beating bad.

So if you want to go through a hurricane, I have no problem if anyone wants to go through it as long as they have an escape route and get a life vest and with someone that can show you the ropes. But the odds are, if the police catch you out during a curfew which sounds like it will be in place during the day and you don't have a reason for being out there, your going bye bye for your own safety. If the worst hits Florida again, yeah, your going to have a ton of cops all over the place.

Also, last year after all the hurricanes, the snakes are out in force and pissed off. Water Moccasin's were also out in force as were the gators.
After Ivan, in Gulf Shores, the EMS was going around shooting the gators that were on the streets and peoples yards. Why were they out of
the water? Fuel spills!

 

[MClarkson]

I thought this was the land of the free???

now we have cops telling us what weather we can or cannot witness?

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Originally posted by MClarkson
I thought this was the land of the free???

now we have cops telling us what weather we can or cannot witness?

I just got off the phone with the hotel in Pensacola to double check their height above sea level and the said that there is already talk about a
curfew.

Also just to double check things, I did call the Pensacola City Police Department (yes at 5:30 AM) and was told its probably going to be
county or several counties wide if their is a curfew.

If there is a curfew and your caught outside in the storm with no real reason for being out there your going to have two options, back to the
motel/hotel or off to a holding cell.

So if you think I'm trying to be a jerk, I'm not, I'm just warning everyone that once you step into the hurricane chase arena, toss the rules of storm chasing in Tornado Alley out the window because its totally different. This is not storm chasing, this is bunkering down in the middle of a massive natural disaster.

 

[MClarkson]

"If there is a curfew and your caught outside in the storm with no real reason for being out there your going to have two options, back to the
motel/hotel or off to a holding cell. "

ya, that is exactly what they told us durring ivan.

We didnt go back to any hotel though... we went to another positition that we had scouted that morning, a steel frame school. Ivan took that jog to the east just before landfall so we would have needed that reposition anyway, but the fact that it was forced upon us by police when we knew alot more about the situation than they did pissed me off.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Well, from the sounds of what I was told by the police and the hotel just this morning, there not going to be playing this time.

I guess all I can say if your not with EMS, NWS, Research like the DOWS or the media with press credentials, chase Dennis at your own
risk.

But if your going to be out in the hurricane just to be there and you get a cop having a bad day and your breaking curfew, oh well.

 

[MClarkson]

stay out of sight as much as possible, thats my advice to whoever chases this storm(if its worth chasing).

Or you could try to blend in. Your going to have to stay mobile because hurricanes wobble, so you probably wont be able to pinpoint a hotel to stay at durring the landfalling... but if you could drive to a hotels parking lot and pretend you are staying there... then you probably wont get screwed with by the local cops.

 

[Amos Magliocco]

I agree with Doug. If you don't know that part of the country and have never chased a hurricane before, you don't have any business driving down there hoping for the best. I would never consider a hurricane intercept without chaining myself to my Weathervine pals who've been doing this for ten years--it really isn't anything like chasing supercells. There are an entirely different set of problems and priorities to deal with, and even though I've talked about hurricanes with Jeff, Chris, and Jason for many years, I've only learned enough to know that I don't know anything. Find someone who has done it before, then go. Ought to be a blast.

 

[Dave Lewison]

I've only chased one hurricane (Frances last year), but I think we experienced just about everything that could go wrong on a hurricane chase, short of being arrested. My best advice...think of everything that you could reasonably need while you're there...and then double it.

Gas...bring it...lots of it. One thing we weren't expecting in Frances was the 300-mile gas shortage up and down the FL coast. Food...without gas, we were forced to stay in shady motels without any power or nearby food. We were very fortunate to have some MRE's (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) that we got from a sporting supply place. We also had canned food and some sterno to heat it with. Even so, we still ran out towards day #3. Portable electricity...even if you don't have a generator, go buy a spare car battery. You can connect your inverter, cell phone, or whatever up to it to charge without worry of draining your car's battery.

We're planning to chase another hurricane this year, but it won't be Dennis...we're not prepared yet. Whatever you do, don't attempt going after one of these things if you're not prepared to live like you're out in the wilderness for a few days. The storm itself is but one of the potential problems you may run into...

 

[Mikey Gribble]

Alright guys, I am all about safety, but give me a break. Do you think that anyone on here who has chased tornadic supercells isn't aware of the possible dangers involved with a hurricane? I know it is completely different. It is high winds that last a long time. There is flooding and there is debris. Amos, to say that someone has no business driving down there "hoping for the best" is an attempt to degrade someones planned chase into some sort of a thrill seeking "throw you bags in the car and let's go" boner trip. How did your weathervine pals do it the first time? Is this some sort of fraternity that passes from generation to generation? I have put a lot of thought into what to expect and how to be prepared. I appreciate any advice anyone has, even yours Amos, but I really don't think that chasing a hurricane is something that should not be done without an experienced chaser. Some of us (me included) don't have the luxury of having buddies who have chased hurricanes before. That just isn't an option for me. I am extremely worried about the police throwing me out, but I am working on possible solutions to that problem. I don't think it is neccessary to put "there is no 911" in bold. Anyone who is going to drive half way across the country to chase a hurricane has probably thought ahead that far. I think you guys are underestimating the preparedness of some of the people who are considering chasing Dennis. I appreciate the advice, but I am not going to follow that particular piece. If I don't chase Dennis, then I am going to chase a hurricane later this season and I have no intentions of becoming a cautionary tale.

 

[cedwards]

Hurricane chasing is no where near the same as tornado chasing. It is much more difficult. I have been on quite a few hurricane chases. Dealing with the local law enforcement is probably one of the biggest problem with chasing. I don’t blame them. They are doing their job in protecting the public. If they did not enforce curfews, there would be a lot of people (mostly locals) putting themselves in very dangerous situations. It is a good idea to make friends with the local law enforcement. Let them know what you are doing, pass on any information about the storm to them, let them know you know what you are doing, but not in a way to degrade them. Always respect them.

In Isabel, I was hanging out at a park near the water for the night. Another car with chasers pulled in the same place. Late that night, the sheriff and several cop cars pulled in doing a sweep of the area. The other chasers were run out of the county. I talked it over with the sheriff and he let me go to the local police station. He said he couldn’t let me stay out, but he had food and beds available, and at 7am I would be free to go out. I took him up on his offer. The hurricane wasn’t going to make landfall until morning anyway. I got a nice free place to sleep, had access to TV and other information. I slept in the holding cell. They had evacuated all prisoners and only staff was there. We all had a slumber party.

The next day, I was out and about filming and ran across one of the cops who swept through the area the night before, He came at me yelling. He had recognized me from the night before. He said “Didn’t we tell you to leave the county?â€￾ I informed him that the sheriff let me stay. He called to check my story and then let me go.

I am not doing much hurricane chasing anymore. I will be in the area most likely right after the event to work with FEMA.

 

[David Drummond]

Of course, the more people with video camera's that can be kept out, the less competition there will be for video sales for some people too eh? :roll: