Category Five Hurricane Michael: Mexico Beach, Florida 

I'll second that

I knew someone was going to say, "just wow"...ughhh....overused expression. How about "WOW"

Robert Racy Your comment.....Just Wow...

Judebug...your comment....WOW!

Wow man! It is a great video!

agreed 💯

Strapped to a telephone pole!

Lmao

Unreal

That's camera was like....yawnn zZzZz

Yeah I think so too.

hairofbullets I agree.

I still go with strong 4.

The Baconator0524: He didn't say it was a category 5, he says he thinks it will be upgraded post analysis. There is a chance it will given it was rated as right on the boundary between cat 4 and 5, the hurricane was intensifying right up until landfall, the recon aircraft may not have sampled the peak winds, and the surface damage will reveal whether category 5 winds on the ground were likely experienced.

I think a strong possibility. Andrew was reclassified. Didnt Michael have a lower barometric pressure than Andrew at landfall? That, combined with the devastation it left behind, makes me think it could be upped to 5.

That's why storm surge is the #1 killer in hurricanes. People dont realize how much water gets pushed ashore and how fast it happens until it's too late.

@@srchnfrcj because the wind is so strong it basically blows the water ashore.

I was thinking exactly what you said in your last sentence. I went through category 5 Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and, if you haven't lived through it, it is impossible to describe the fury.

And Hurricane Andrew. And Hurricane Donna.

years ago, my Dad told me about the water coming up through the lobby of the hotels and over the Island to the bay.

That road and parking lot are 99% of the time about 12-15 feet above sea level but any local will know the express lane parking lot floods with a light rain lol

So that being said - the surge managed to rise 12-15 feet above sea level right in front of our eyes. Incredible.

I agree. I thought storm surge meant the surge before the storm, not so! :(

I hope you're home soon

We're fortunate - our primary home is in Arizona, so we weren't homeless or having to live in a shelter. We had left Rockport three weeks before that Hurricane came through and destroyed much of the city and surrounding communities. However we DO consider Rockport to be home - it just feels comfortable. I love Arizona ...the desert, the mountains, the blistering summer heat, the wicked monsoons, the bone-dry air (90% of the time), and the general laid-back attitude, but Rockport feels just as comfortable. Not complaining AT ALL. We're going on 15 months after the Hurricane and we haven't been back to the house yet. Once everything is done (the house had to be lifted and moved), and all of the inspections are completed, THEN we'll head back down and find out how the inside did. The engineers have certified the house to be structurally sound, but I'm sure since it moved, things are scattered all around, like an earthquake. But again, not complaining. Thanks for your reply.

Definitely going to be upgraded after post analysis.

@@Blipp619 They only do that for tornadoes... Tornadoes are rated based on their damage. That's how the fujita scale works. Hurricanes, however, are rated based on the winds. It was a high-end category 4 with 150 mph winds, just 6 mph shy of a category 5. So no, it wasn't a category 5, but it was pretty close!

Katrina Felix I get that. However, I know that for hurricane Andrew based on forensic analysis it was reclassified in 2002 from a category 4 to a category 5. Also being that the winds were 155 at landfall with a pressure (919) rarely seen in storms other than category 5, and given the fact that wind speed ratings at landfall are far less accurate than over open water - I figured it would probably be looked at very closely in post season analysis.

Katrina Felix also, I heard Rick Knabb ( former national hurricane center director ) hint at this being a possibility.

Katrina Felix not to beat this point to death, but one more bit of info. During post storm analysis of Andrew, Tetsuya Fujita actually assisted in data collection and was consulted on damage to eliminate the possibility of the damage being primarily tornado born. I believe they will test ground level instrumentation in the area to see if wind gust were measured that would normally exceed the potential of category 4 storm. This is what was done with Andrew so there's definitely precedent for it.

You spoke my words!

Akwesi Quan it was actually 2mph short of a category 5. So it could have been worse. Irma last year got up to 175mph sustained winds at its strongest point. They said if it went to Category 6 Irma would have been that at her strongest.

@@GaryLyons I thought it was 185 mph...

Katrina Felix they downgraded it to 180MPH

It’s been upgraded too a category 5

As of April 19th, the NHC rated it a Cat 5. It is now official.

And those filing insurance claims got screwed by the Cat 3 reclassification of Katrina (rather than Cat 4) despite the fact that actual wind speeds are only a small piece of the puzzle. I'm hoping that Michael gets reclassified up.

@@mesoed Ohh now I know why a powerful hurricane such as this are often downgraded compared to the usual rounds of category 5 super typhoons that hits Asia. It's all tied down to the insurance companies...that's sad..

I DEFINITELY wouldn't say that. The categorization has zero to do with making the insurance companies happy. It's an actual meteorological assessment of surface reports and damage that can be traced exclusively to wind after the fact. I would blame the insurance companies for doing things the "easy" way by using one small piece of the puzzle in large-scale natural disasters rather than doing proper damage assessments.

@@mesoed Oh okay..It seems like I misunderstood the statement :( I initially thought Ohh maybe that's why we here have more actual Cat 5 typhoons because we are not being covered by insurance coverages while the same devastating hurricanes are often categorized as 4 or 3 because they have insurance claims...sorry :(

Timothy Smith cat 5 starts at 158

The weather in FL is insane. It can come torrential downpours instantly at any time and even massive hurricanes and then a few minutes later there is beautiful sun and clouds and it's like nothing ever happened.

hey toy do have access to ay data to confirm . those numbers?

Pretty sure that is a mounted camera.

I disagree. I lived through Hurricane Michael and the extreme wind warnings. The sustain winds were over 155 mph in Panama City FL for 3 hours which was about 25 miles away from Mexico beach. Mexico beach experienced over 155 mph for 3 hours. Before Tyndall AFB went dark sustainable wind guest over 180 mph was recorded which was 14 miles away from Mexico beach. Mexico Beach along with Tyndall AFB was obliterated beyond belief. One Mexico beach survivor stated that the Strom surge was over 20 feet. He even stated he was lucky to have survived such a horrific event.

@@helloworld4371 No they were not in Panama City I mean. Mexico Beach yes. The strongest is the right quadrant. The main meteorologist that worked in Panama City said sustained were about 120 to 130. Tyndall was probably 140 to 150 sustained with gusts to over 170. Now Mexico Beach. They had the 155 plus winds for sure. But to be honest even 110 can take off your roof.

@@markpalavosvrahotes5575 I went through the left quadrant of the eye wall and witnessed first hand the extreme wind that had guest over 155 mph winds for 3 hours. Inside a F5 tornado along with the extreme flooding which I wasn't even in a flood zone. 30 ton railroad cars were picked up and thrown by the extreme wind on HWY 231 that's not 120mph winds. So don't advise me of what you think happen. I lived through Hurricane Michael wrath. Panama City , Springfield, Callaway, Millville was obliterated and Mexico Beach along with Tyndall AFB experience the full force of Hurricane Michael and was erased from the foundation.

@@helloworld4371 No if the meteorologist who was in downtown Panama City said sustained 120 to 130 that’s what it was. Gusts of 155 yes. But not sustained. Mexico Beach was sustained 155 to 160 mph gusts to 185. I wish I would have been in either Callaway Tyndall Airforce Base or Mexico Beach. Well at least I got to chase Ian last year. Hurricanes are a lot of fun to chase. But I’m no pro. Just do it as a hobby.

Ditto. What was this camera in?

Nope. It's been updated. NHC rated it a Cat 5 on 4/19/19.

Thanks! It was inside of a Pelican Case and the case was ratchet strapped to the utility pole like a boss!

hurricanetrack haha nice work, glad it survived

Great to hear from you my friend! I gave you as much warning as I could on Sunday. Let me know how the area is please

Yes

Hero 4

That’s classic! Actually the GoPro is inside of a pelican case about the size of a lunch box. It is all part of a specially designed system to capture the intense impacts of hurricanes and other severe weather.

My complete documentary will put it all in context and demonstrate my complete respect and empathy for the people of Mexico Beach and elsewhere. In fact, I have something very special planned for when my documentary is complete that I hope will resonate with everyone who was impacted by Michael there in MB. Hang in there!

That was Toucans :(

It incredible to be able to watch. Thanks!

I have no clue. Honestly what the heck?

They gotta build houses outta that stuff now. They would survive anything!

Begins around 9am local time and goes thru the core around 12:30 pm and finally the aftermath as the day wears on. As for how the lens stayed clear? I have no idea. Luck.

Thanks