[ValleyPA]

Josh--what a great summary! That's an A+++ in my book!
Mary

[Pathfinder]

Josh, first and foremost I'm glad you came through Dean safe and sound. You gave an excellent write up and I appreciate you sharing, reading your account made me want to chase as well. Congrats, you took a chance pursuing what you love, which is worth a lot. Looking forward to more canes for you to chase in safer places!

PF

[MalakianOne]

HurricaneJosh, on Aug 22 2007, 04:02 PM, said:

Hunt for Food
Almost all restaurants were closed—a bummer because I was craving a hot meal. I’d been subsisting on multigrain bars and sugar corn pops for the last 36 hours and couldn’t do it anymore—I needed real food.

A grocery store that had lost much of its roof was open for business, and I bought some canned tuna and vegetables which I planned to eat cold. It was a dismal prospect but I’m used to this sort of thing after a big ‘cane.

Imagine my delight when I came across an open hamburger stand. The front door was smashed but they were running on a generator. I waited on line for about a half hour, watching through the window like a hungry dog while two chicks wearing hairnets slaved over a hot grill cranking out elaborate hamburguesas con todo. Do you know what butter melting on a grill smells like to someone who hasn’t had a hot meal in three days? :lol: Needless to say, it was the best burger I’d had in a very long time. :D

LOL

In fact only the hotel where Mexico's president was sleeping and the hamburguesas con todo stand was w/ power that nigth. U was very lucky!...

[turtlehurricane]

Good stuff Josh, a very nice summary. Storm chasing sounds pretty tiring!

P.S. It ended up there wasn't enough room on the flight for me but, the plane had mechanical problems anyways and couldn't take off. Its odd how these things work out. :arrowhead:

Also, this thread should help lighten the mood for you :D http://www.easternus...howtopic=140456

[nutmegfriar]

Terrific write-up. Thanks very much.

[kellybean]

Josh, what was the most imporatnt pieces of equipment you had with you? (i'm thinking of this as my power is out from a very nasty squall we just had --wind gust of 80 mph not too far from here-- and i'm absolutely adoring my iPhone with its ability to still get internet right now.)

[Bob Schafer]

I was also spellbound real-time by your adventure, Josh!

Riveting recap! Bravo! Bueno!

I don't know for sure, but I gather that you are not a "tornado chaser". Your comment about "mission unaccomplished" reminds me of one of the first things a noob storm (tornado) chaser learns, i.e. that most chases are busts. Many who take up chasing start out all gung-ho, then fade away, never to be heard from again, once they learn that. Frustration sets in, and they lose interest.

The relevance to that analogy is that I know that feeling, dude! The sick, empty feeling at the end of a chase when I crash on my motel room bed, tired and hungry, hit the forum, and see pics of the "tornado-of-the-year" that I just missed by 5 miles or 5 minutes. But that is short-lived to a hardcore. The next morning brings a new model run and a new target, and the frustration turns to anticipation of the next storm.

In time, you realize that hey, that was still a damn sweet chase back on that day. The holy grail may have been beyond reach that day, but the memories of what WAS seen are still treasured until the day you die.

Because you were a hunter that day, that's what really matters, and <insert deity of preference>'s will was fulfilled. Exactly as intended.

Bob

[HurricaneFanatic]

Hi Josh. Just wanted to say a few of us over here in New Zealand have been following your thread (nervously at times), awaiting your replies. While we do'nt know you from a bar of soap and I do'nt understand a lot of this weather jargon your journey has kept us all up late into the night. What an honour to be a part of this thread, albeit mostly as a lurker....you are one very brave man going up against this monster. ...:-) Thanks for the fantastic write up, look forward to seeing some pics soon. You now have some of us addicted to this site awaiting the next big monster. Cheers mate.

[quickstep]

Great writeup!

I still think you lucked out, and I'm so glad you're okay. I was really worried about a lot of things, but it worked out. I hope it also provides food for thought for those uninitiated chasers who might have a notion of going out there without first doing some planning.

Hopefully, you can salvage the data you got from cameras/camcorders. If your gear was water damaged, they do make waterproof housings for just about every make of camera and camcorder out there, for the next time you chase a foogin huge rainstorm.

Have a safe trip back to L.A. and get some rest.

[Bob Schafer]

BTW, if you have trouble salvaging your vids and images, find a photo shop with someone real knowledgeable. They work miracles, from what I've heard.

[aifan27]

Josh,

Glad to hear that you are safe and doing well.

Awesome write-up! :thumbsup:...I'm really looking forward to seeing your pictures and videos.

[John Erwin]

Quote

Debris—including a huge water tank that had fallen from the hotel roof—floated down the street.

After seeing that tank in the pics of the hotel, I knew it was going to be toast!

Great write-up Josh.. you add a lot of interesting details often skipped by some, even the things such as what you found to eat afterwards etc.

This truly sounded like a very unique storm in terms of the core tightness; I'm wondering what it was like on the north side of the core.. likely worse I imagine. I'm guessing the southern portion of the winds just outside of the core were being greatly by the land at this point too.. although I haven't studied the wind field figures from landfall onward to confirm that.

I think another interesting aspect is your experiences chasing this hurricane in another country; I know there is a significant amount of uncertaintly in doing so; apparent from the some of the early posts here. It does sound though Josh that you had a very positive experience in your dealings with locals and officials.. I'm sure this will be kept in mind for those that take the challenge in the future!

Again, fantastic work!

[beavis1729]

Wonderful write-up, Josh! Thanks for sharing your journey with all of us.

If you're flying home from Chetumal, what will happen to your rented car that you left in Playa Del Carmen? Or, was it purposely a one-way rental? :scooter: Of course you don't need to answer if you don't want to...just curious :thumbsup:

I hope you and/or others get to chase another hurricane soon. Best of luck.

[TheSnowman]

QUOTE(Ian @ Aug 22 2007, 06:40 PM) *
I'm in on the LES chase this yr. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif


Me too! snowing3.gif snowing3.gif


Me Three!! snowing3.gif snowing3.gif snowing3.gif

Just Amazing Josh!! Thanks Soooo Much!!!!!!

[TheSnowman]

QUOTE(Ian @ Aug 22 2007, 06:40 PM) *
I'm in on the LES chase this yr. thumbsupsmileyanim.gif


Me too! snowing3.gif snowing3.gif


Me Three!! snowing3.gif snowing3.gif snowing3.gif

Just Amazing Josh!! Thanks Soooo Much!!!!!!

[MallowTheCloud]

Josh: clear out your pm box! :P

[donsutherland1]

Great summary, Josh. Many thanks for sharing it here.

[snarf1]

donsutherland1, on Aug 23 2007, 12:01 AM, said:

Great summary, Josh. Many thanks for sharing it here.

This coming from the photo king master of NYC snowstorms. Josh you better post some pics here. No pressure but DonS has provided some of the greatest snowstorm pics ever.

Godspeed Josh.

[TornadicTstorm]

I'm so glad to hear that you made it out alive and uninjured, Josh. That was an incredible write-up, too. You're a great writer. I can't wait to see some pics and video of your amazing experience! :)

[Mthurricane]

Josh,

WOW! Great job man ! I just got home to Miami from documenting Dean in Dominica and was bummed I could not get over to the Yucatan in time but your blog made me fell I was there. Your are a talented writer, WOW ! A friend sent me this blog and I was up all night anxiously awaiting your blog updates. Dude, a wobble to the south and you would probably of experienced more than you would have wanted. Trust me. I was worried for awhile about you in that city until I saw it was going north of you. I had the opportunity to see the destruction Hurricane Andrew did to South Florida first hand and Dean was more powerful than Andrew. Just because you were not in the right front quad does not mean you did not experience the 3rd strongest storm in history to hit land. You were in the perfect position to live through and still experience the storm. That is a mighty notch under your belt, Congrats !

Mike Theiss
UltimateChase.com
EyeInTheTropics.com