Dangermouse

Thanks for your kind comments. See you next time.

Here is a the edited version of the chase video from typhoon FANAPI. I completely drenched my computer while on the chase and therefore could not make any more updates, so sorry about that. Everything is working well now though. Here in Taiwan we obviously experienced intense winds and high rainfall. There was a lot of structural damage and localised flooding has been reported, however thankfully on this occasion, there were relatively few casualties. I hope you enjoy the video - I did intend to update throughout the storm but there are always things that go wrong in every chase. Thanks!

Very intense winds hit our location earlier, bringing down traffic lights, streetlights and stripping off roofs. The relevant websites will give you the real data for wind speeds as I was unable to get accurate readings from the ground. Unfortunately, I also destroyed my barometer by dropping it so I don't have any readings for the lowest pressure at our location. Also unable to update due to lack of wireless cover. Parts of the city are without electricity. I eventually took shelter at a local police station where I initially based myself. The police were not answering 911 calls due to the ferociousness of the wind. At the moment, things are quite calm with light rain. Initial raw video here: 01:03 UTC/09:03 Taiwan

Than you. Just an update. We are currently on our way towards Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan. The current conditions are blustery with intermittent heavy showers. I will update when we arrive in Hualien, and hopefully add video updates later (technology permitting!). Edit: After a hairy ride down the shear-drop coastal road of the east coast of Taiwan we have arrived in Hualien where we will monitor the track of FANAPI and decide where to best position ourselves. There is currently extremely high rainfall in the eastern city of YiLan, which is approximately 60 miles north of Hualien. Between YiLan and Hualien we experienced heavy gusts estimated at around 25-35kts as the outer edges of the system reach the coast and sporadic but extremely heavy rainfall. Rocks have been falling onto the road and our vehicle was hit by a small one on the hood just in front of the window, but there is no damage or injuries. Many trees and signs are already down, however, there have been no landslides as yet and access is still possible. As I type, rainfall is becoming more consistent and is steadily intensifying. Our most likely plan of action will be to stay north of the eye-wall and intercept the eye from the north Thanks so far to those who have offered position data through text. Almost time for breakfast. 26° 58' 50"N 121°35'53"E - Hualien, near airport. 21:37 UTC/05:37 Taiwan

Hello, I will be intercepting the storm as it makes landfall in Taiwan this weekend. I will keep you posted on developments.

Yes - interesting to watch this one spin up, lull and then weaken - all without hurting anybody. Superb.

Some very nice pictures here!

The situation here in Taiwan at the moment is quite dire. As you already know, there has been almost record breaking rain in the southern part of Taiwan, which has triggered some immense landslides: one in particular today has wiped out a whole village of 1,313 people, but so far only 43 people are accounted for. Several buildings have also fallen into rivers where the water has undecut the banks, and many many bridges have collapsed, making rescue attempts difficult or next to impossible. Most of the south has been cut off. The worrying thing is that there is a real chance that this episode will not be over before the next typhoon arrives, especially if it is anything like last year. The latest ECMWF model run spins something up in about 8 days so I'm sure it won't be long. We'll see. You really can't imagine the amount of rainfall. It has to be seen to be believed - it makes the UK look like the Gobi. Find below some pictures I took yesterday. They don't really show the worst of it, but it gives you an idea of what much of the south is like at the moment. Thanks, Dave.

Thanks for the welcome. Yes, Morakot's size was a prohibitive issue for RI. If you are interested, you can see footage of the storm which I took yesterday here: You can also see top storm chaser and chasing partner James Reynolds' footage The final lowest reading in the eye wall was 28.26, which I believe is 957 millibars. I'm off to see the flooding tomorrow. Much of the south is flooded out and cut off. So Morakot was just a warm up. I'm very much looking forward to intercepting more typhoons this year and I'll share the info here.

Hi all. New user here - but just thought I'd share some info about Morakot. Myself and a fellow chaser managed to intecept the eye-wall in Hualien (Taiwan) yesterday after a precarious chase down the east coast of Taiwan. We were not entirely sure where it would make landfall, as the initial predictions were for it to head north and make landfall in YiLan, which is in the north east. Although Morakot was a big system, only the outer bands of the storm bought heavy rain from the north east. As Morakot neared Taiwan, however, the preciptation lessened as it neared landfall - it was one of the driest typhoons I have experienced in the eyewall. Before making landfall, Morakot reduced its forward speed considerably and hung off the coast, finally making landfall at about 0000hrs local time (20:00UTC). Winds prior to landfall were inconsistent, with strong gusts and then strange calm periods - however, strong winds were already battering Taiwan at least 15 hours before landfall. Winds within the eyewall peaked for about 20 minutes before the eye passed over us. Winds from the south west were tipped to be even more intense, however, Taiwan is a very mountainous island and although winds from the south west may have been more intense, they were blocked by the mountains. Immediately after the eye passed over, torrential rain started and persisted. In the south of Taiwan, both before and after landfall, huge amounts of rain fell, totalling more than 3 ft in some areas. Wide-spread flooding has occured, but as of now, the amount of serious landslides seems to be minimal. However, as more rain is expected and will continue to seep into the soil, I fully expect to see some further slides. Conditions now in Taipei are calm with little precipitation. The position of Morakot now is centred almost over Taipei, but Morakot's effectiveness as a Typhoon has been severely reduced due to terrain. It is expected to move out towards the north west later today. Morakot in my view was a very disorganised system which failed to tidy itself up before landfall. Stalling just off the coast in shallower water may have also taken a significant amount of punch away from it. It was also a difficult system to intercept due to the wobbles and reduction of inertia it displayed in the several hours before landfall. Having said this, it still packed a punch and caused moderate structural damage in some parts of the island, with winds of varying intensity in the lead-up to making landfall. All in all, a decent, if a little disappointing typhoon, with a successful intercept.