Chase DetailsSeptember 2, 2006 (Hurricane John)
Chase Type: Hurricane
Chasers: Reed Timmer, Joel Taylor
Location: Cabo San Lucas, MX
Distance: 5000 miles
Hurricanes: 1
Max Wind Speed: 75 mph
Summary
On the morning of Wednesday, August 31, I noticed that Hurricane John had intensified rapidly overnight, and a majority of the new model runs predicted a path directly over Cabo San Lucas, Mexico during the day on Friday. The 11 am National Hurricane Center Forecast was also consistent with the model ensemble, predicting Hurricane John to make landfall at the tip of the Baja Peninsula as a Category 3 or 4 hurricane. Given that I missed the massive tornado outbreak a week or so prior in the northern Plains (after stormchasing unsuccessfully there about 10-15 times this year), I needed an extreme weather event in a very bad way to alleviate some of the depression from such a bad stormchasing year, and thought a trip to Cabo San Lucas to get pounded by a major hurricane would be the perfect opportunity. I called Joel to see if he wanted to make this insane trip, and surprisingly, he said "Book it" (I would have gone solo even if Joel did not want to go), so I purchased two plane tickets on my credit card for an astronomical amount with the unrealistic plan of at least breaking even on this trip after video sales. The flight departed from Oklahoma City in less than two hours, so we had to make preparations FAST! Joel immediately went to Walmart to pick up enough food and water for a week in case we got trapped down there (I realized it was a bad idea to have Joel pick up the food supplies, because his idea of survival food are Slim Jims and Vienna sausages, which would likely accelerate our starvation if we were stranded), and we packed our helmets, goggles, and rain gear. Since we were flying to the target, we thought it would be a bad idea to pack axes and chainsaws, but we also realized that trees would be rather scarce in the dry climate of Baja. We called Jason Fill to let him know that we were heading to Mexico, so TornadoVideos.net could be upgraded to "breaking news mode", with our live gps tracker and video updates activated. This would prove to be an exciting chase, not only because of the potential for a major hurricane landfall, but also because it was our first true run of the new breaking news features on TornadoVideos.net.
We left for the airport and boarded our plane for Cabo San Lucas with only minutes to spare, and of course, no preparations for lodging in Mexico. We befriended two vacationers on the plane, Chris and Jamie, who informed us that the hotel in which they were staying (the Sheraton Hascienda Del Mar), was rather inexpensive and directly on the beach 6 miles east of Cabo. We thought this would be a perfect place to document the storm, and hoped that we could talk to the management there and get a discounted rate. After experiencing some brief delays in customs due to our unusual equipment, the taxi drive to the hotel was overpriced, yet very interesting, with 50 cars lined up at each gas station we passed. However, people were not boarding up their homes, and it appeared that the locals were not taking the storm seriously outside of acquiring gasoline. Near the town of San Jose (where the airport is located), the contrast in building quality was insane! Clusters of "run-down", likely poor neighborhoods were located next to massive beach resorts that appeared more like castles than hotels. I thought to myself that if this area were to sustain a direct hit from a major hurricane, a majority of the buildings left standing would likely be the hotels.
The Sheraton Hascienda Del Mar was an incredible resort, something we would not be able to afford if a major hurricane was not heading straight for it (We had two nights and all meals for free in the end). When we arrived Wednesday night, the lobby was packed with people checking out and trying to catch flights out of Cabo to escape the hurricane. The hotel was basically in a state of mass chaos, but the hotel staff was incredibly nice and prepared for this event. Our room was perfect to document the hurricane, with a huge glass window facing the ocean, and it was only about 50 yards from the water, and on the third floor well above the level of the largest potential storm surge. We went to sleep extremely excited for this hurricane intercept, since the NHC still predicted a landfall directly at our location.
We awoke early on Thursday morning to extremely calm seas and sunny skies, and we filmed our first TornadoVideos.net video update. The morning NHC forecast still predicted the landfall of a major hurricane at Cabo San Lucas on Friday, and the satellite/radar showed the initial outer rain bands only a few hours offshore. Thus, we enjoyed the few hours of sunlight, and explored the beach and hotel grounds for optimal videotaping locations to document the hurricane landfall. The Baja Peninsula is definitely a beautiful place, with massive rock formations extending well into the turquoise ocean. We also saw two large iguanas on the hotel grounds, and huge rock crabs on the reefs. The first outer band arrived during early afternoon, and was accompanied by a spectacular roll cloud (See pictures and early afternoon video update below). Before the first outer band, the ocean and atmosphere was very very calm, but following the passage of the outer band, a fairly consistent breeze and choppy seas prevailed. After swimming in the fairly large waves all morning and early afternoon, the beach was closed down to tourist swimming.
Later that night, Hurricane John began to intensify once again after a brief weakening trend due to interaction with mainland Mexico. However, the hurricane began a substantial "wobble" to the west. We were actually quite disappointed at this point despite the rapid strengthening, because it appeared that the storm would miss us completely to the west if it sustained this motion. It seemed that when one caveat was alleviated (i.e intensity), another would surface (i.e. direction and the potential for a complete miss). Given this wobble to the west, we now predicted a landfall (if the hurricane could regain its northwestward motion) later in the afternoon on Friday, rather than the morning.
We awoke early Friday morning to Hurricane John re-establishing its northwestward motion, and were then expecting a direct hit later that afternoon/evening. The forward motion of John had decreased substantially, so we were now dreading a landfall after dark. Therefore, we were no longer concerned with direction of motion, but now we were worried that the hurricane would hit at night limiting our ability to photograph. Once again, when one potential problem was alleviated, a completely different one emerged. The hurricane continued to intensify overnight, and regained category 3 status after a brief dip to category 2. The 8 am NHC update estimated a central pressure of 950 mb with sustained winds of 125 mph. John also had a textbook "pin-hole" eye at this point (see satellite images below from Friday morning), so we thought that it may even be stronger than indicated by the NHC. The radar presentation from Cabo San Lucas was also incredible, showing a pronounced circular eyewall (See images below).
As the afternoon progressed, the hurricane began to accelerate its forward speed, but made an unexpected and unpredicted turn to the due north! This track was completely outside of the NHC forecast track envelope, and only one model predicted this motion (GFS). We realized that if this track continued, the small, yet powerful hurricane would miss us to the east...an issue we never though we would face! Much to our surprise, the northward track did continue, and by late afternoon we knew it was time to take action or face another 2006 clear sky bust. I went down to the hotel lobby and found a member of the staff that we had befriended previously. I told him of our situation and that we needed transportation FAST so that we could intercept the hurricane about 50-70 miles to our east. I showed him a map and he informed us that all the roads to our east along the coastline were very poor and completely dirt/rock, and that we would an SUV to make it through, especially with the potential for flash floods and mudslides. He attempted to call several Hummer rental locations, but none were open since they had already evacuated inland. He then contacted his friend Gabriel (who owns a Ford Explorer with offroad tires) via radio, and Gabriel agreed to drive us to the southeast Baja Peninsula...So we grabbed our rain-suits, goggles, helmets, and camera and took off.
Gabriel was a CRAZY driver...perfect for a timely Hurricane John intercept. He had a sound system in his car with very loud base, so we listened to Mexican hip-hop music for much of the trip (several songs were actually sung by his brother). We encountered heavy rain and tropical storm force winds about 30 miles east of Cabo San Lucas, just east of San Jose where the airport is located. Our first obstruction was reached also just east of San Jose: a flash flood was roaring across the road and was visibly getting larger and stronger. Also being a thrill seeker, Gabriel plowed into the flood waters with no hesitation and passed through the mud flow quite easily. Joel and I were actually a little nervous at this point, but Gabriel assured us it was not a problem...and it was clear he had probably done this before. Further east, the road turned to rock/dirt, and directly on the right side of the road was a huge cliff that extended straight down to the ocean below (likely a 500 meter drop off!). This cliff, the terrible road conditions, and the heavy rain did not stop Gabriel, and we continued on at a high rate of speed. We were slightly nervous at this point that his truck would slide off the road, over the cliff, and smash into the ocean, but luckily that did not happen! After about 10 miles on the cliff-side road, we realized we were running low on gas, and the road began a curve to the north, so we decided to stop and film on the beach. We experienced gusts to weak hurricane force, and large waves that were breaking very near to shore. I would estimate that we were about 20 miles from the eye of the hurricane, and it was rapidly moving away from us at this point. Still though, the waves in the ocean were spectacular, and the scenery was incredible.
On our way back, the intensifying flash flood we drove through earlier was now a monster, and police were blocking off the road. The police informed Gabriel that we would have to sleep in our car, and wait until the following day or later to pass through the flood. A brief conversation in heated Spanish ensued, and Gabriel informed us that we could pay the driver of a bulldozer to pull us through the fast moving flood with a chain. We decided on this option, and captured some fairly good footage of the flash flood slamming into the side of our car. On a few occasions, the back tires of Gabriel's truck slid down stream with the fast moving water, so if we weren't being pulled through by a bulldozer, we likely would have been swept downstream. When we returned to the hotel, there was very little damage, since Cabo San Lucas received very little rain/wind because John was such a small hurricane (hurricane-force winds extended only 25 miles from the eye.
Thus, in the end, we did not capture the footage we were hoping for, since the hurricane only grazed the southeastern tip of the Baja Peninsula...and we didn't even come close to breaking even on this trip in the near term. However, the locals of Cabo San Lucas luckily dodged a bullet on this one, since their preparations were likely insufficient. On a positive note, our plane took off on time on Sunday, and we didn't have to tap into the Slim Jims and Vienna sausages.
We left for the airport and boarded our plane for Cabo San Lucas with only minutes to spare, and of course, no preparations for lodging in Mexico. We befriended two vacationers on the plane, Chris and Jamie, who informed us that the hotel in which they were staying (the Sheraton Hascienda Del Mar), was rather inexpensive and directly on the beach 6 miles east of Cabo. We thought this would be a perfect place to document the storm, and hoped that we could talk to the management there and get a discounted rate. After experiencing some brief delays in customs due to our unusual equipment, the taxi drive to the hotel was overpriced, yet very interesting, with 50 cars lined up at each gas station we passed. However, people were not boarding up their homes, and it appeared that the locals were not taking the storm seriously outside of acquiring gasoline. Near the town of San Jose (where the airport is located), the contrast in building quality was insane! Clusters of "run-down", likely poor neighborhoods were located next to massive beach resorts that appeared more like castles than hotels. I thought to myself that if this area were to sustain a direct hit from a major hurricane, a majority of the buildings left standing would likely be the hotels.
The Sheraton Hascienda Del Mar was an incredible resort, something we would not be able to afford if a major hurricane was not heading straight for it (We had two nights and all meals for free in the end). When we arrived Wednesday night, the lobby was packed with people checking out and trying to catch flights out of Cabo to escape the hurricane. The hotel was basically in a state of mass chaos, but the hotel staff was incredibly nice and prepared for this event. Our room was perfect to document the hurricane, with a huge glass window facing the ocean, and it was only about 50 yards from the water, and on the third floor well above the level of the largest potential storm surge. We went to sleep extremely excited for this hurricane intercept, since the NHC still predicted a landfall directly at our location.
We awoke early on Thursday morning to extremely calm seas and sunny skies, and we filmed our first TornadoVideos.net video update. The morning NHC forecast still predicted the landfall of a major hurricane at Cabo San Lucas on Friday, and the satellite/radar showed the initial outer rain bands only a few hours offshore. Thus, we enjoyed the few hours of sunlight, and explored the beach and hotel grounds for optimal videotaping locations to document the hurricane landfall. The Baja Peninsula is definitely a beautiful place, with massive rock formations extending well into the turquoise ocean. We also saw two large iguanas on the hotel grounds, and huge rock crabs on the reefs. The first outer band arrived during early afternoon, and was accompanied by a spectacular roll cloud (See pictures and early afternoon video update below). Before the first outer band, the ocean and atmosphere was very very calm, but following the passage of the outer band, a fairly consistent breeze and choppy seas prevailed. After swimming in the fairly large waves all morning and early afternoon, the beach was closed down to tourist swimming.
Later that night, Hurricane John began to intensify once again after a brief weakening trend due to interaction with mainland Mexico. However, the hurricane began a substantial "wobble" to the west. We were actually quite disappointed at this point despite the rapid strengthening, because it appeared that the storm would miss us completely to the west if it sustained this motion. It seemed that when one caveat was alleviated (i.e intensity), another would surface (i.e. direction and the potential for a complete miss). Given this wobble to the west, we now predicted a landfall (if the hurricane could regain its northwestward motion) later in the afternoon on Friday, rather than the morning.
We awoke early Friday morning to Hurricane John re-establishing its northwestward motion, and were then expecting a direct hit later that afternoon/evening. The forward motion of John had decreased substantially, so we were now dreading a landfall after dark. Therefore, we were no longer concerned with direction of motion, but now we were worried that the hurricane would hit at night limiting our ability to photograph. Once again, when one potential problem was alleviated, a completely different one emerged. The hurricane continued to intensify overnight, and regained category 3 status after a brief dip to category 2. The 8 am NHC update estimated a central pressure of 950 mb with sustained winds of 125 mph. John also had a textbook "pin-hole" eye at this point (see satellite images below from Friday morning), so we thought that it may even be stronger than indicated by the NHC. The radar presentation from Cabo San Lucas was also incredible, showing a pronounced circular eyewall (See images below).
As the afternoon progressed, the hurricane began to accelerate its forward speed, but made an unexpected and unpredicted turn to the due north! This track was completely outside of the NHC forecast track envelope, and only one model predicted this motion (GFS). We realized that if this track continued, the small, yet powerful hurricane would miss us to the east...an issue we never though we would face! Much to our surprise, the northward track did continue, and by late afternoon we knew it was time to take action or face another 2006 clear sky bust. I went down to the hotel lobby and found a member of the staff that we had befriended previously. I told him of our situation and that we needed transportation FAST so that we could intercept the hurricane about 50-70 miles to our east. I showed him a map and he informed us that all the roads to our east along the coastline were very poor and completely dirt/rock, and that we would an SUV to make it through, especially with the potential for flash floods and mudslides. He attempted to call several Hummer rental locations, but none were open since they had already evacuated inland. He then contacted his friend Gabriel (who owns a Ford Explorer with offroad tires) via radio, and Gabriel agreed to drive us to the southeast Baja Peninsula...So we grabbed our rain-suits, goggles, helmets, and camera and took off.
Gabriel was a CRAZY driver...perfect for a timely Hurricane John intercept. He had a sound system in his car with very loud base, so we listened to Mexican hip-hop music for much of the trip (several songs were actually sung by his brother). We encountered heavy rain and tropical storm force winds about 30 miles east of Cabo San Lucas, just east of San Jose where the airport is located. Our first obstruction was reached also just east of San Jose: a flash flood was roaring across the road and was visibly getting larger and stronger. Also being a thrill seeker, Gabriel plowed into the flood waters with no hesitation and passed through the mud flow quite easily. Joel and I were actually a little nervous at this point, but Gabriel assured us it was not a problem...and it was clear he had probably done this before. Further east, the road turned to rock/dirt, and directly on the right side of the road was a huge cliff that extended straight down to the ocean below (likely a 500 meter drop off!). This cliff, the terrible road conditions, and the heavy rain did not stop Gabriel, and we continued on at a high rate of speed. We were slightly nervous at this point that his truck would slide off the road, over the cliff, and smash into the ocean, but luckily that did not happen! After about 10 miles on the cliff-side road, we realized we were running low on gas, and the road began a curve to the north, so we decided to stop and film on the beach. We experienced gusts to weak hurricane force, and large waves that were breaking very near to shore. I would estimate that we were about 20 miles from the eye of the hurricane, and it was rapidly moving away from us at this point. Still though, the waves in the ocean were spectacular, and the scenery was incredible.
On our way back, the intensifying flash flood we drove through earlier was now a monster, and police were blocking off the road. The police informed Gabriel that we would have to sleep in our car, and wait until the following day or later to pass through the flood. A brief conversation in heated Spanish ensued, and Gabriel informed us that we could pay the driver of a bulldozer to pull us through the fast moving flood with a chain. We decided on this option, and captured some fairly good footage of the flash flood slamming into the side of our car. On a few occasions, the back tires of Gabriel's truck slid down stream with the fast moving water, so if we weren't being pulled through by a bulldozer, we likely would have been swept downstream. When we returned to the hotel, there was very little damage, since Cabo San Lucas received very little rain/wind because John was such a small hurricane (hurricane-force winds extended only 25 miles from the eye.
Thus, in the end, we did not capture the footage we were hoping for, since the hurricane only grazed the southeastern tip of the Baja Peninsula...and we didn't even come close to breaking even on this trip in the near term. However, the locals of Cabo San Lucas luckily dodged a bullet on this one, since their preparations were likely insufficient. On a positive note, our plane took off on time on Sunday, and we didn't have to tap into the Slim Jims and Vienna sausages.
Radar Images
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General Photos
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Highlight Video
WARNING: This may contain language not suitable for children! Be advised!
hurricane John video stormchasers weather tornado
Video from TornadoVideos.net stormchasers Reed Timmer and Joel Taylor as they intercept category 3 Hurricane John from "ground zero" east of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Flash floods and mud slides were the main threats encountered, as the hurricane grazed the southeastern tip of the Baja Peninsula
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