***Not for broadcast without permission*** This is my unedited video of the passage of Hurricane Michael moving through Marianna, Florida Wednesday afternoon, October 10, 2018. By approximately 1 p.m., hurricane force wind gusts had begun in southeastern Marianna. I took video and some still photos as Hurricane Michael passed directly overhead between 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The eye passed directly over my location at the America's Best Value Inn, 2086 Florida Highway 71, between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. Based on my observation from the surface and looking at radar images that were later sent by friends, it appeared the center of the eye of Michael passed over around 3:15 p.m. Because my phone battery was weak, power was out, and my phone signal was weak, I turned off cellular service and took as much video as I could of the storm. The most impressive things I noticed were the length of time the winds were sustained at hurricane strength and the manner in which they relentlessly ramped up. The best way I could describe it is that winds ramped up to a certain "plateau" speed. Then a higher gust would move in (you could usually hear and see the higher gusts and heavier rain sheets coming before they arrived). The winds would again plateau at this higher level until the next gust approached and an even higher plateau was reached. This process repeated itself from about 1:40 p.m. until the eye arrived at approximately 3 p.m. The approach of the eye was clear to see. I was without radar data so I was relying on extrapolating what I saw previously on radar and what I was observing. In the minutes before the eye approached, precipitation intensity decreased, although the winds remained high. I observed a lighter sky appearing on the horizon behind the darker clouds. As the rain and wind decreased rapidly, it became obvious that we were in the eye. People started walking around. Birds started flying. Since my battery was down to about 15 percent on my phone, I quickly walked to my car and tried to charge the phone. I received a few texts with radar images sent by friends. Those images confirmed what I observed regarding the eye. By the time the eye reached Marianna, it had filled in with cloud cover, but the rain and wind stopped, temporarily. While in my car, I thought about what would happen after the eye passed. Winds would resume rapidly and come from the opposite direction, the west. The northern eye wall had produced considerable damage. Numerous trees were snapped off and uprooted. Parts of the hotel were removed and scattered about, along with other debris. There was a metal portable carport that had been blown into a position just west of my car. I decided to move my car, which proved later to be a good move! The winds from the southern eye wall came out of the west and blew that metal carport exactly where my car had been parked. At about 3:30, the southern eye wall arrived. As expected, high winds arrived quite suddenly. Despite the fact I was aware this would happen, during the short time it took me to get from my car back to the hotel, I was hit by a small piece of debris on my leg. The southern eye wall was intense, but not as intense as the northern eye wall. Despite the lower intensity it was probably more dangerous. All of the debris that had been broken loose from the northern eye wall was now being blown back to the east by the southern eye wall. All of the people at the hotel who were initially excited by the extreme winds evidently grew tired of watching it. During the northern eye wall there were dozens out of their rooms watching the storm from their doorways, the walkway or the breezeway. By the arrival of the second eye wall, I believe I was the only one still watching. By about 5:00, winds were still very strong, but I found a brief time window when I could make a dash for my car. I was soaking wet. My phone had lost power, so I took a few minutes to start the phone charging, eat a snack, and prepare to (hopefully) leave. My goal was to get all the way back to Alabaster, Alabama, but I didn't know exactly what obstacles I would face.

• published: 01 Nov 2018
• views: 611097