Hurricane Bonnie: 1998

http://www.hurricanetrack.com
By 1998, I had decided to get out in the field more during hurricane landfalls and since most were hitting right in my backyard- literally- '98 was a good year to officially begin the Hurricane Intercept Research Team. Working with FEMA's Project Impact program on hurricane awareness projects, I knew that learning more about hurricanes when they impact land would help me to better convey my message of why it is important to prepare. Thus, I formed HIRT in the summer of 1998 and Bonnie was my first mission with the new name. I was joined by Jamie Arnold who was a student at UNC-Charlotte at the time. He is now a meteorologist at WITN in Washington, NC. We both tackled Bonnie's extended stay in the Cape Fear region and were able to drive in and out of the eye several times. The video gets a little more exciting this time around as I gained more experience filming the before, during and after of a landfalling hurricane.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• storm chaser
• storm
• weather
• hurricane
• bonnie
• 1998
• north carolina
• wrightsville beach
• waves
• wind
• rain

[GovernmentCheez]

Thank you for posting this. My family and I lived in Wilmington when this hurricane hit and decided to stay because my wife was pregnant. The doctor warned us that because she was due, the dropping barometric pressure could bring on the delivery. He was right, because my son was born during Bonnie right around noon at Cape Fear Memorial. They would not let anyone leave the hospital due to the storm, and my daughter and I had to ride it out until the eye passed over to go home.

[GovernmentCheez]

I remember the back half of this storm well. It was bowing 40 ft pine trees over till they touched the ground or broke. It was our first hurricane, and by far the best.

We also lived there through Dennis and Floyd. If you have a lot of footage of this, I would like to have it for something I am putting together for my son.

Thanks,

Ron

[countryboys1992]

Is there anyway you can Email me this video bc it brings back alot of memories for me if you can do that I will be grateful to you :)

[countryboys1992]

I was 6 years old when hurricane Bonnie struck whiteville NC say what part of NC was that shot I was not like most children who got scared I was having a ball watching the rain and wind I remember it knocked my town to its feet with flooding and it shut EVERYTHING down

[gabybabby1]

I was born August 27 1998 during hurricane Bonnie!!!

[3sheetz2thawind]

I grew up in Jacksonville, NC. I was there for all these hurricanes! They were awesome! Not scary!

[punish3r56]

i was there lol ocean city

[jerseyman4]

Ken Murphy and George Elliot on WECT

[LowTegra]

Great vid! I would like to get to the Carolinas sometime to experience their hurricanes, been thru a bunch of Florida hurricanes and NJ tropical storms

[hurricaneadventures]

Hi Mark,

Like you, this was my fourth significant encounter with hurricane force conditions (with hurricanes Diana, Bertha, and Fran being the others) here in Wilmington, NC. You did a fabulous job documenting Bonnie in this video clip...and is one of my personal favorites for obvious reasons.

A well deserved five stars here!:)

I hope you and the family are continuing to do well.

Tony