If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like inside a hurricane’s eye—without having to actually be in it yourself—check out this picture from Air Force Capt. Garrett Black.
Black, a meteorologist and hurricane hunter, snapped it while flying through Hurricane Dorian on Sunday.
In the extraordinary photo, you can see Dorian’s eyewall, which is a solid wall of clouds, with the sun shining brightly through a blue sky above.
The eye of #Dorian pic.twitter.com/XN29zC46IP
— Garrett Black (@GBlack22wx) September 1, 2019
“The storm itself, once we get into the eye, was incredible. It’s one really that I’ve never seen quite to that extent,” he told CNN’s “New Day” on Monday.
“We had the giant cumulus towers surrounding us that gave us the same effect it felt like we were sitting in the center of a football stadium. Then we could also see the water at the surface and see how calm it was directly below us but could see off in the distance how large the waves were.”
Black and his crew went through the storm as Dorian barreled through the Bahamas, and the winds inside the hurricane were blowing at a “terrifying” 185 miles per hour.
There’s Lightning, Too
Watch:
“It was rather remarkable,” he said. “We entered the storm when it was a Category 4.
As we continued to fly, we saw the pressure continue to drop inside the center. And the winds continued to pick up. And the final report when we left, right as it was ready to make landfall there in the Bahamas, the winds were 185 miles per hour. Which is absolutely terrifying and catastrophic. Especially for the Bahamas there.”
He also talked about seeing flashes of lightning during such flights through hurricanes, which “always kind of grabs my attention.”
We’ve made it back home to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. Here’s a few photos from hurricane #Dorian
✈️⛈???????? #ReserveCitizenAirmen #ReserveReady #403WG #WC130J #SuperHercules #WeatherReady #NWSNHC pic.twitter.com/3Erxlf4qUk— Hurricane Hunters (@53rdWRS) September 1, 2019
Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas Sunday night and left catastrophic destruction in its wake, according to government officials.
Devastation in the Bahamas
The Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department confirmed the Abacos Islands have suffered major damage during Dorian.
“Now is not a time to panic now is the time to plan how to get the recovery started. Hope Town Fire and Rescue will be heading up the efforts for recovery,” the department said in a statement. The NHC also tweeted that “we have seen videos in the Abacos of people venturing out in the eye of #Dorian. Everyone should take shelter immediately as winds will increase rapidly and unpredictably after the eye passes..”
More footage from the Abaco islands.
Unimaginable storm surge has essentially plunged the entire island under water. pic.twitter.com/LAO0jYr0Nv
— ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? (@IntelCrab) September 1, 2019
One woman apparently posted a video from inside a home on Abacos and wrote, “Lord we NEED you.” The video also included the text, “I need your prayers were stuck (sic).”
Another purported video from Grand Abaco showed Dorian’s storm surge inundating the island.
This is the scene in Abaco island, Bahamas at the moment as the eye of #HurricaneDorian comes ashore right now. #Dorian2019 #Dorian report @rickymyers pic.twitter.com/STyGDjXIQv
— WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) September 1, 2019
Some videos were apparently shot while the eye of Dorian was passing over, showing widespread damage to cars, houses, fences, roads, and more. That prompted the NHC’s aforementioned warning to locals to stay inside.
Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said that parts of Marsh Harbor in Grand Abaco are “underwater,” reported The Washington Post.
Dorian is a storm “that we have never seen in the history of the Bahamas,” Minnis said, adding that he’s unsure of fatalities.
#HurricaneDorian is raking Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island in the #Bahamas. The storm surge and hurricane force winds are already taking their toll as it slows down and stalls.
???? Patrick Tully pic.twitter.com/2BWbgQPmba— Mike Seidel (@mikeseidel) September 1, 2019
Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
