12 August 2012
Hurricane Ernesto Video: PREMIERE!

Check out the video from iCyclone's Hurricane Ernesto chase on the Yucatan! 

Hey, it's not beautiful camerawork—the darkness and chaos made it almost impossible to setup a clean shot—but it captures the experience of riding out a direct hit from a small, strengthening hurricane in a roadside restaurant deep in the tropics.

The video starts quietly and it builds as the hurricane approaches. The roaring climax happens just after 12:30 am (note the timestamp), when Ernesto's center passes just a mile or two to the south and we're in the punishing inner north eyewall.  Not surprisingly, this is also the time of the lowest pressure (975.0 mb). This radar image below is from that moment—with the red diamond showing my location.

You'll notice in the video that the cyclone doesn't last long—the whole thing comes and goes in less than an hour. It's a swift, hard kick!

I'll post a complete chase account tomorrow. In  the meantime, enjoy the video!

iCyclone Position in Ernesto