Typhoon Koppu Slams Into Hong Kong Storm Chaser Video

September 14, 2009 – Storm Chaser James Reynolds recently films some impressive scenes from Typhoon Koppu, as the storm slams into Hong Kong. James was kind of enough to feed into us his latest video just shot intercepting the powerful storm. 100mph winds, impressive waves and storm surge filmed during the after dark cyclone. James is a fellow Storm Chaser based in Shanghai, China. Be sure to visit TyphoonFury.com for all of his work.

Thanks James for a great video feed in of Typhoon Koppu!

Labor Day Weekend Storms Kept Floridians Off Beaches

September 7, 2009 – Labor Day Weekend gave way to widespread thunderstorms over much of Southern Florida from Friday to Monday. Whether it being early morning showers and thunderstorms along the coastal beaches and offshore waters, to late afternoon and evening lightning storms over the interior. Plenty of low and mid-level moisture, combined with heating from early day sun, set the stage for storms to blossom throughout the holiday weekend.

There were even a few severe thunderstorms roaming around over the weekend, and more developed well into the even hours as outflow boundaries collided. Above is a view of a northern Everglades lightning storm converging on a Lake Okeechobee breeze boundary and slowly tracking northward. Many of the storms were slow moving due to the weak steering flow, so some locations picked up several inches of rainfall since Friday.

Although the rains kept many people off the beaches in the morning and afternoons, everyone found some way to enjoy the Labor Day weekend and to close out their summer festivities. As for me, I’m waiting for the official end to summer before getting depressed that the Fall season is truly in effect. That day is quickly approaching on Sept 23, 2009, and my Florida afternoon sea breeze storms will come to a end very soon as the wet season comes to a close as well.

Storm Chasers Capture Hurricane Jimena Video In Baja

September 4, 2009 – Fellow Storm Chasers just returned from intercepting Hurricane Jimena in Baja. Chasers Jim Edds and Jeff Piotrowski flew in to intercept the storm a few days ago and was able to get into the eye of the weakening hurricane. Puerto San Carlos, Mexico turned out to be their final target and Jimena tracked right over this small community bringing 90mph winds and the calm of the eye. They also recorded a pressure reading of 973mb during the passage of the eye.

In this short video you can see what they experienced that early morning, but stay tuned also to their websites for further video and pictures likely to be released.

Lazy Mans Late Night Lightning Through The Kitchen Window

September 3, 2009 – A little creative lightning photography through my kitchen window last night. It was kind of like a lazy-mans late night lightning photo session on short notice. I never had the time to acclimate my camera for the very hot and humid weather conditions outside, as I like to keep my house very cool at night around bedtime.

It was shortly before midnight last night, when another complex of thunderstorms moved in from the west after developing along leftover outflow boundaries. Once I heard the thunder, I was frustrated that more storms were coming and I had missed previous nights due to feeling a little under the weather. I knew the camera lens and body was way too cool to bring out into those late South Florida summer nights on short notice, so I said what the heck, I’ll shoot out a window.

I setup a tripod real fast, opened the blinds, focused through the screen and rain, and started shooting away. I shot about 16 exposures, but these two were the only ones worth posting. After seeing them, they are not too bad for shooting out the kitchen window. LOL! Made for a enjoyable end of the day for me, and I never even had to get dressed.

Tropical Storm Erika Named Just East Of Leeward Islands

September 1, 2009 – Tropical Storm Erika is named in the Atlantic. The tropical disturbance we’ve been tracking for days east of the Leeward Islands, has continued to organize over the last few days. Earlier today, a recon flight out to the system found tropical storm force winds of 50mph and a low-level circulation. Erika is currently experiencing wind shear similar to Tropical Storm Danny, and only slow strengthening is forecasted at this time.

The National Hurricane Center’s forecast track keep Erika just northeast of the northern Caribbean Islands the next few days, and as a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for the northeastern Caribbean Islands at 5pm.

It will be interesting to see how Erika evolves over the next 72 hours, and if she will become another fish storm or a threat to the Bahamas or further west.