Hurricane Elena (Eye) - Biloxi, Mississippi - September 2, 1985

[ColombianO4evry1]

U cant get any more center than this lol

[Bigstevoreno0655]

Where was that video shot? At the old Broadwater Beach Hotel in Biloxi? It looks like the old Broadwater Beach Hotel in the back of the property behind the main entrance up front on US Hwy 90. I was in Biloxi then and still live here today. Cool shot of the eye but it would have been great to see more footage of the calm while the eye passed over, the trees still, no wind, etc.

[ilovetogofast88]

Great quality, looks like it was filmed just yesterday

[soulfultenor]

I have a Regal also, what was that a limited ?

[TheTpanative]

@bashirthetrainmaster. Irene's eye won't be this perfect. Elena was a cat 3 with an extremely well developed eye. Cat 1 storms that parallel the coast tend to have ragged eyes because there isn't much strengthening occurring (eye wall cycling). I was 9 years old when Elena sat off the coast of Tampa for two days. Now that was a storm, being on the east side of the eye is much worse than the west side.

[BashirTheTrainMaster]

@TheTpanative I feel like the thunder storms try to avoid me because they know that I want to see them. Ever since I started to like them, they go a few miles to the east or west of where I live. Or when they do come right on top of me, they move at <100mph <:^/................I know about storm details and stuff though.

[susangoldsmith]

Your video is exactly as I remember and it brought back all of the beauty of being inside of the eye of Hurricane Elena. It took about an hour and then we were back in the shelter for many more hours while the storm tracked over Biloxi. I will never forget it. Thank you so much for the video.

[DeeJayJudas]

Pause the video at 0:06 or 0:07 is that a 1985 lamborghini?

[BashirTheTrainMaster]

Dang, I wish I can see Irene's eye from Philadelphia. (Coming)

[GermanOperaSinger]

Fantastic footage. I wonder how the eyewall would look like on a Cat. 5 from the ground. Loved the George Harrison song playing on the radio at the end!

[Dakotacrans95]

its amazing that in the 80's and 90's the video cameras had better quality

video that the shitty digital camcorders these days..

(unless you spend a lot of money on a HD)

[Xoxinwulf]

great quality for 1985

[ebonydiospyrosferrea]

I've read about this!!! THE EYE IS REAL!!!!! THIS IS AN ACTUAL TYPHOON EYE! Ive read a random typhoon journal in our school library and one of the most remarkable typhoons that ever passed America is typhoon Elena because it is known for the wonderful sight of the eye it gave to people when it passed by towns. It's rare to actually see the eye of the typhoon without any obstruction

[jewtewb]

@ebonydiospyrosferrea

*hurricane*

[funkbrother216]

I was 10 and I still remember seeing the aftermath on tv. This is when I came to respect what a hurricane could do. How long did calm of the eye last?

[Spudst3r]

Would love to see the transition from eye to full intense stom in a video. Really want to get a sense of how quickly things go back and forth when you get into the eye of a hurricane.

[sabhierules1]

so this is what basically is happening: there's a hurricane happening, and you decide to video-tape eye? daring. and wonderful!

[evilemperordude]

@sabhierules1 If able, I'd definitely go out in the eye of the storm and take some some pictures or footage. Just gotta remember to get back to safety before the other side of the eye wall hits.

[phatcheck]

Thanks for uploading this. Wonderful footage.

[KitchumS]

definition of awe inspiring!

[tierradepasiones]

Hi there im Joshua and i now live n Florida.

[BahoUtot]

Quality storm vid from the 80's. Thx for sharing.

[relayer07]

was there....lived off Pass Road. We had been ordered to evacuate,went up to Jackson,came back to thankfully,little or no damage to apartment.My family operated El Palacio Mex Restaurant @ Pat Harrison .Despite the often scary weather days,those were good times (pre casinos)

[I350zI]

nice clip. video quality is 10 times better than most of the videos that get posted on youtube now :D

[BigLebowski2000]

WOW! In the center there is no wind and the sun shines! But be prepared when the eye has passed...wind comes from the other direction.

[insideoutface]

Great footage, thanks for uploading.

[cathylynnms]

ms_cathylynn@yahoo.com

[cathylynnms]

I will never forget this hurricane. we stood outside in the breeze way through some of it. I saw roofs rip off, cars flip over,huge trees just rip out of the ground out of the ground. I freaked out when it got really bad and the man on the radio was making it even worse. He kept saying "the worst is yet to come' I was"how can it get worse" lol my mom had to slap me to calm me down then she gave me a valium. That eye was amazing. At one point birds were flying in the blue sky of the eye.

[liquidstl]

@cathylynnms do you have pictures / video?

[SevereStormsMax9]

That must of been a well organized storm to have a eye like that

[vmax135]

@SevereStormsMax9 Yep. The structure of Elena had really changed the day before, with a well-defined eye developing and persisting all the way up through landfall. The uniqueness of Elena's eye was that there was also a relatively large area that was free of low to mid clouds, allowing an incredible view of the eyewall from the ground! I've been in many, many hurricanes since Elena, and much stronger ones, but I still have never seen another eye passage like this one.

[VABkWrm]

I lived in Biloxi when Elena hit. A mere thunderstorm, compared to Katrina, but my first experience with a hurricane, so it made an impact on me!

[DetroitLove4U]

1985 was a great year. I miss the 80's. I'm sure vmax135 if you can live this clip in real life over again you would. I was only 7 years old. I enjoyed that short clip of 80's music from your car.

[vmax135]

@DetroitLove4U Thanks so much, glad you enhoyed the clip. And yes, you're absolutely right, if I could re-live this storm in real life... I'd definitely be hitting the "replay" button over and over... lol.

[Tony1TAKE]

@DetroitLove4U I was 10...my stepdad was TDY in texas...my family and i were in a shelter on Keesler AFB

[cello3]

@DetroitLove4U I was 8 in 85, and you're absolutely right, the vibe in the 80's was incredible. Great movies, great music! I often miss those days!

[LordsReject]

1:42 That's what she said.

[MedelProductions]

wow, that's alot!!!

[vmax135]

Yeah... between Hurricanes Elena, Gloria and Kate, I probably shot over 30 hours of footage during the '85 season.

[MedelProductions]

is there more footage than this?

[vmax135]

Yes... In total I took about 12 hours of footage during the Elena chase, between August 29th and September 2nd.

[From96to05]

I wanted to see something that happened on the day I was born ( 9/2/85 ), thanks very much for posting this!

[LemieT]

This video is AWESOME!!!!!!!! I was born this year and honestly this would be a the most amazing experience in the world, being surrounded by that wall of cloud and the beautiful blue sky above.

[AlmightyLordHatchett]

wow, your accent is crazy to me for Biloxi lmao... i gew up in SouthWind Apartments ( a ghetto on Irish Hill Drive) and nowadays you would never hear an accent like that unless you went to the hospital area by nativity BVM church lol... idk... j/s

[chrissalyn81]

@AlmightyLordHatchett OMG - my aunt lived there from 90ish to 98/99. I had some good times at that pool. Not the 7' one, the 8' one...lol.

[neonatlantis]

Wow Elena's beautiful blue eye lol. It is difficult trying to figure where this part of the storm shall pass. So definitely kudos. I've always wished that part of the storms would pass over us but, i'd have to be willing to endure the eye wall, which i won't mind

[pierre45a]

Great footage. Wondering how long you can go walkabout until the winds pick up again?

[vmax135]

The duration of the calm varies from storm to storm, depending on the size of the eye and the speed of the hurricane's forward motion. With Elena, the calm lasted for about 35 minutes at our location before the eastern eyewall reached us.

[StormChaserNathan]

How amazing is this! The eye of Hurricane Elena! Just one year after I was born!

I like how excited you were while shooting this footage of it! How rare is it to get to see that!

[tealmarlin]

this is Amazing! Iv never seen this before, what a great find. And the video quality is very good for 1985

[TTURedRaidr]

@tealmarlin Funny. But in 1985, the 8mm recorders were actually just as good as the recorders today, you just don't have the bulky 8mm tape mechanisms & other electro-mechanical devices they had then.

[moe405]

Amazing video. I have never seen a video from inside the Eye from the surface before! And with Blue skies which is fairly rare. Good Stuff man, Five Stars !

[liquidstl]

yeah I searched the internet for years looking for video/ pictures looking straight up at the blue sky & stadium effect through the eye of a hurricane as viewed from the ground up.

[LDCTSTORMCHASER]

That is absolutely AMAZING!!! So cool...

[SpykmanDesign]

I was there, in the eye of hurricane Elana in Biloxi! My family and I were in my bike shop, just outside Keesler AFB. We watched billboards and traffic lights and parts of buildings go flying past outside. When it calmed down we went out into the street. This video is exactly what we saw, huge walls of storm clouds in a circle around us with open sky above. When the winds started to pick up again we went back inside and watched it all fly past in the other direction. Thank you for posting this!

[vmax135]

Thanks for your comment! Elena is still one of the most amazing hurricane intercepts I've ever had... and the eye passage is still the best of any I've ever seen!

[liquidstl]

do you have any pictures or footage spykmandesign?

[SpykmanDesign]

No, sorry. Not enough presence of mind to think of that, I guess.

[ROCKERGURL79]

I remember this storm very well ..I was only 6 years old and me and my whole family were staying at st. martin high school when it happened ... Btw what song was that at the end lol !!

[vmax135]

Thanks for the comment! The song playing on the radio at the end of this clip is one of my all time favorites (even before Elena), George Harrison's "Blow Away". I think the DJ's were having some fun with the situation...lol.

[ROCKERGURL79]

You know if i didnt see the date to this video i would of thought it was new .. Good job about the song because i would of never remembered if i done that long ago !!

[iloveyou29483]

What was the category of this hurricane?

[vmax135]

Elena was a low-end category three at landfall in Mississippi, with sustained winds of 115-120mph. About 25 minutes before the eye passage our chase team experienced sustained winds of about 105-110mph with peak gusts near 130mph at this same location.

[TTURedRaidr]

@iloveyou29483 - It was a 3, if I remember right. I was stationed at Keesler AFB when it hit and we has sustained 110-120 mph winds, with some gusts to 140. East of there, it was worse as Eglin AFB near Destin, FL took a worse hit. The eye came on shore at Ocean Springs, MS.

[liquidstl]

I stil Can Not believe how well defined this eye passage was at ground level...... This next to the Hurricane Hugo chase footage is some of y ll tie favorite storm footage from anywhere.... What you and JIm Captured in Hugo( along with crazy hurricane Andrew Stories) was what first got me interested in hurricanes.. As my interest developed I yearned to see footage looking up out of the eye into clear sky and at the opposing eyewall... and you guys cought that too!

[real0988]

Kind regards, Michael! .. had been thinking about making a timelapse of the eye of the hurricane .. you and your friends with your equipment you could achieve very soon; create the first timelapse demonstrating to the World movement of cyclonic rotation from the ground and not from the space .. better still in a hurricane eye defined as Elena. That would be historic ;D

[liquidstl]

That would Be Amazing.... I'd Love to do that!

[liquidstl]

What was The Diameter of Elena's Eye? Btw, is there any way you can post some of you Hurricane kate Chase footage? - If you can, include some eye footage too please : ) ( sorry, I have this obsession with Hurricane eye's LOL )

[vmax135]

At landfall in Mississippi, Elena's eye diameter was about 15-18 miles on radar... but the area of actual clearing was probably a bit less... maybe 10-12 miles. I'll try and post some Kate footage soon, though Kate's eye was not very well-defined at landfall in Florida... it really just manifested as a brightening of the sky and thinning of the cloud cover, but no breaks or clearing at our location.

[DarkShadowRage2]

I have a question..though I do love hurricanes and find them fascinating...

Since you chase them can you confirm or deny that the clouds spin like a buzz saw from the ground?

What does it look like from the ground up?

[vmax135]

Looking up at the base of the clouds (mostly they're obsucred by heavy rain) while a hurricane is moving over, you would normally see them streaming by, very quickly, in one direction. Over time, that direction will change as the storm's circulation passes by. If you happen to go right through the center of the hurricane, and are lucky enough to see a well-formed eyewall (from within the eye), you may be able to see the clouds rotating completely around you on all sides, but it would be rare.

[DarkShadowRage2]

Awesome! Thank you for the nice explianation! :)

[VideoProductionFilms]

Wow I did not know that you uploaded a new video Michael! This is a long time ago. I was just born a year ago in september of 1984. Your footage shows a great capture of the eye of the hurricane. That is amazing!

[vmax135]

Thanks Nathan! I'm glad you like the clip. You're right...it was a long time ago and, after all these years, it's still the best eye passage I've ever seen.

[Masenko]

Great clip.

[hosnflos]

oh my god , im splodin with excitement ! right ine the eye!

[Hurricane23mph]

AMAZING!!!! This almost looks like recon stuff.

Truly incredible thanks for posting. Adrian

[liquidstl]

Yeah, the funny thing is, about a year and half ago I found 1 of JIms Pictures form inside this eye whilst looking for Pictures of a Hurricane's eye from the ground up..... The stadium effect was so sharp ( and with only the top of the Boluxi water tower in the pic) I thought it was from a recon flight UNtil MIchael told me otherwise haha

[liquidstl]

More People Must See This.. It deserves to be in every hurricane documentary ever made.

[pomofo]

I heard of the calm before the storm..but this is the dead quiet in the middle of the storm. lol

[link4ever7]

... words cannot describe this footage, it is truly amazing, a true piece of history...

[SporeSubmitter]

Thats scary and amazing at the same time. 5/5

[real0988]

You take the main prize Michael!! .. 1:23 minutes, the eye is more defined than ever observed. Amazing, amazing, few hurricanes show the sky completely free of clouds. I would give you 10 points but only 5 can give you ;D

[vmax135]

Thanks Roy! After all these years, this is still the most impressive eye passage I've ever seen. Did you get to see Wes Skiles' Gilbert clip I uploaded? I figured you'd really like that one....haha.

[liquidstl]

As far as storm structure goes; This is probably my favorite storm structure footage ever. The only stuf that even comes close are the very rare super cells or Mesos that have a flying saucer or stacked plate appearence

[liquidstl]

Absolutly stunning.... Jaw dropping.... I dont have the words........

[vmax135]

Thanks Chris! I'm glad you liked it... I'll eventually have a more complete edit of the footage up. Hopefuly we'll get into an eye like this next season!!!

[hurricanetrack]

That is definitely a rare thing to see let alone video tape. I would love to see something like that in time lapse. Hope to do it myself one day.

[vmax135]

Thanks Mark! After all these years, this is still the most amazing eye passage I've ever seen. I'm sure we'll all get to see another one like this one day...haha.

[cyclonejimcom]

I thought you were taking stills during this time. You must have grabbed the video camera quick. This was a historic catch..

[vmax135]

Haha...yeah, actually I think I still had the video camera in hand from the first half. Right after the part where you comment on the approaching scud from the east, I remember seeing myself on your tape saying "I gotta go get my still camera, I gotta get stills of this!", just before I bolted back upstairs to the room to go grab it. It was all a blur...haha. Chris really wanted to see this footage so, for now, I've posted it as a private clip for only a few people to have access.