For as long as I can remember I have been interested in tropical weather, and for many years I have wanted to chase hurricanes. For several reasons, I had not done so, until now...
Hurricane Milton quickly came on the scene and rapidly strengthened from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane within a 24 hour period while in the Southern Gulf Of Mexico. Weather model guidance had been eyeing a Florida peninsula landfall since Milton was classified as a tropical depression, however likely in a weakening phase, as increased shear interaction and dry air entrainment were possible. I had pondered over the idea of chasing Hurricane Milton, as this was shaping up to potentially be the first major hurricane landfall in the Tampa region in around 100 years and St. Pete Beach, which resides in the Tampa region, is meaningful to me for several reasons. After going back and forth on the idea for several days, I pulled the trigger and decided I would head down to Florida to chase Hurricane Milton, which was expected to make landfall Wednesday night/Thursday morning, October 9/10th.
After a day of travel issues flying down on Tuesday, October 8th, I finally made it to Orlando, FL during the evening. Grabbing my rental SUV, stopping for some supplies, food, and gas, I made my way westward to a St. Petersburg hotel for the night, where I met up with fellow chasers Adam Lucio, Chelsea Burnett, Ryan Cartee, and Bob H.
With the arrival of Wednesday morning, October 9th, we decided to head south to get into position near the potential location of landfall, which looked likely to be somewhere between Sarasota and St. Pete Beach. After working around some bridge closure issues, we made it to Bradenton, FL during the early afternoon to scope out the area and find a parking garage for shelter if needed. We then headed to Cortez, FL for a few hours during the afternoon, which is on the shore of the mainland, facing west towards the barrier islands. While sitting in Cortez, FL, bands of heavy rainfall and tropical storm wind gusts occurred, with a min storm surge. While sitting in place, we noticed that Hurricane Milton was approaching very quickly, and was looking to make landfall much earlier than was expected. Our calculations suggested an evening landfall around or just after sunset was looking likely, compared to previous estimates of overnight on previous weather model guidance. During this time we also noticed the wobbling eye of Hurricane Milton was keeping us on our toes as to where it would make landfall. Eventually, a hard right turn started to occur, with due east movement. With this occurring, we decided that we should reposition southward to Sarasota, FL. After a short drive filled with flooded roads from heavy rainfall and a large structural fire, we made it to Sarasota, FL and found a marina/park to settle in at for intercept.
As Hurricane Milton approached, it was in a weakening phase due to increased shear interaction and dry air entrainment, which dropped the hurricane from a category 5 in the days prior, down to a category 4, and then to a category 3 as landfall approached. Because of these issues and weakening, the eye and eyewall of Hurricane Milton were quickly degrading through the day leading up to landfall. With time passing as we sat in our intercept location of Sarasota, FL the front (northeast/east) eyewall impacted our location, bringing wind gusts of around 100MPH and numerous power flashes. Only a minor storm surge was seen during this time. As the hurricane continued, the degrading eye of Hurricane Milton made landfall, bringing a period of essentially calm winds to our location for around 15 minutes or so. Storm surge also began to more steadily increase during the passage of the eye. The back (west) eyewall brought wind gusts around 100MPH once again, along with a rapid rise in storm surge. This rapid rise in storm surge forced us to retreat to a nearby parking garage, where we sat for a short time, before heading back down to ground level, where the storm surge had already quickly retreated. Driving around for a bit, we noted widespread damage across the downtown Sarasota area, much of which was tree damage. As the center of Hurricane Milton continued to push further inland and the back eyewall continued to move further inland, we decided to call it a chase. We headed back to our hotel for the night, with a drive that was filled with continued high wind gusts and roads flooded from heavy rainfall. Making it back to St. Petersburg, we made a stop to check on significant damage to Tropicana Field and to high-rise buildings in downtown St. Petersburg.
Waking up Thursday morning, October 10th, we left St. Petersburg and went our separate ways. I decided to survey the St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach, and Bradenton, FL areas. I came across widespread damage, most of which was tree damage, with isolated occurrences of structural damage. After surveying damage across the area, I headed back to Orlando, FL, where I stayed Thursday night, before flying back home on Friday, October 11th.
Some pictures and videos from this chase can be viewed below. Additional pictures can be found in the 2024 photography section.
Hurricane Milton quickly came on the scene and rapidly strengthened from a tropical storm to a category 5 hurricane within a 24 hour period while in the Southern Gulf Of Mexico. Weather model guidance had been eyeing a Florida peninsula landfall since Milton was classified as a tropical depression, however likely in a weakening phase, as increased shear interaction and dry air entrainment were possible. I had pondered over the idea of chasing Hurricane Milton, as this was shaping up to potentially be the first major hurricane landfall in the Tampa region in around 100 years and St. Pete Beach, which resides in the Tampa region, is meaningful to me for several reasons. After going back and forth on the idea for several days, I pulled the trigger and decided I would head down to Florida to chase Hurricane Milton, which was expected to make landfall Wednesday night/Thursday morning, October 9/10th.
After a day of travel issues flying down on Tuesday, October 8th, I finally made it to Orlando, FL during the evening. Grabbing my rental SUV, stopping for some supplies, food, and gas, I made my way westward to a St. Petersburg hotel for the night, where I met up with fellow chasers Adam Lucio, Chelsea Burnett, Ryan Cartee, and Bob H.
With the arrival of Wednesday morning, October 9th, we decided to head south to get into position near the potential location of landfall, which looked likely to be somewhere between Sarasota and St. Pete Beach. After working around some bridge closure issues, we made it to Bradenton, FL during the early afternoon to scope out the area and find a parking garage for shelter if needed. We then headed to Cortez, FL for a few hours during the afternoon, which is on the shore of the mainland, facing west towards the barrier islands. While sitting in Cortez, FL, bands of heavy rainfall and tropical storm wind gusts occurred, with a min storm surge. While sitting in place, we noticed that Hurricane Milton was approaching very quickly, and was looking to make landfall much earlier than was expected. Our calculations suggested an evening landfall around or just after sunset was looking likely, compared to previous estimates of overnight on previous weather model guidance. During this time we also noticed the wobbling eye of Hurricane Milton was keeping us on our toes as to where it would make landfall. Eventually, a hard right turn started to occur, with due east movement. With this occurring, we decided that we should reposition southward to Sarasota, FL. After a short drive filled with flooded roads from heavy rainfall and a large structural fire, we made it to Sarasota, FL and found a marina/park to settle in at for intercept.
As Hurricane Milton approached, it was in a weakening phase due to increased shear interaction and dry air entrainment, which dropped the hurricane from a category 5 in the days prior, down to a category 4, and then to a category 3 as landfall approached. Because of these issues and weakening, the eye and eyewall of Hurricane Milton were quickly degrading through the day leading up to landfall. With time passing as we sat in our intercept location of Sarasota, FL the front (northeast/east) eyewall impacted our location, bringing wind gusts of around 100MPH and numerous power flashes. Only a minor storm surge was seen during this time. As the hurricane continued, the degrading eye of Hurricane Milton made landfall, bringing a period of essentially calm winds to our location for around 15 minutes or so. Storm surge also began to more steadily increase during the passage of the eye. The back (west) eyewall brought wind gusts around 100MPH once again, along with a rapid rise in storm surge. This rapid rise in storm surge forced us to retreat to a nearby parking garage, where we sat for a short time, before heading back down to ground level, where the storm surge had already quickly retreated. Driving around for a bit, we noted widespread damage across the downtown Sarasota area, much of which was tree damage. As the center of Hurricane Milton continued to push further inland and the back eyewall continued to move further inland, we decided to call it a chase. We headed back to our hotel for the night, with a drive that was filled with continued high wind gusts and roads flooded from heavy rainfall. Making it back to St. Petersburg, we made a stop to check on significant damage to Tropicana Field and to high-rise buildings in downtown St. Petersburg.
Waking up Thursday morning, October 10th, we left St. Petersburg and went our separate ways. I decided to survey the St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach, and Bradenton, FL areas. I came across widespread damage, most of which was tree damage, with isolated occurrences of structural damage. After surveying damage across the area, I headed back to Orlando, FL, where I stayed Thursday night, before flying back home on Friday, October 11th.
Some pictures and videos from this chase can be viewed below. Additional pictures can be found in the 2024 photography section.
Chase Statistics:
Landfall Category: Category 3
Intercept Location: Sarasota, FL
Eye Intercept: Yes
Landfall Category: Category 3
Intercept Location: Sarasota, FL
Eye Intercept: Yes
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