So you want to be a storm chaser? Read this first
By
Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
AccuWeather's meteorologists and storm chasers worked around the clock to bring viewers the most up-to-date coverage throughout Hurricane Delta's landfall.
Hurricane Delta was a memorable storm for the history books and the Louisiana residents who were dealt a second landfalling hurricane in their state, just six weeks after Hurricane Laura wreaked havoc.
But while record keepers will remember Delta for plenty of historical reasons, for veteran national weather reporters, like the ones who covered the storm for AccuWeather, the memories from Delta will stick for a plethora of other reasons.
Behind the scenes, years of experience led to days of preparations for hours of travel and minutes of breath-taking reporting based on split-second decisions. Not all of those incredible stories made it onto The AccuWeather Network, however.
Here are some of those incredible stories behind the stories, told by none other than the reporters on the ground themselves. Read on for an oral history of what it was like to cover Hurricane Delta.
But before diving into the backstories and logistics of the reporters, we had to ask: What's up with the footwear we see them wearing -- even in extreme situations like what's pictured below?
AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala and videographer Andy Coates covering Hurricane Delta in Louisiana. (AccuWeather)
(AccuWeather)
While reporting on Delta's heavy winds on Oct. 9, Petramala lost a flip-flop that captured the intensity of the storm's strength. The story behind those flip-flops turned out to be even more interesting.
Jonathan Petramala, AccuWeather National Reporter: That particular style of slips is sort of an inside thing between Reed Timmer, Andy, myself and a couple more people.
Andy Coates, videographer on assignment for AccuWeather: So, I actually buy everyone these flip-flops because they are the best thing to cover storms in.
Petramala: The easy answer is that of all the things to wear wet, wet socks are the worst. Often, we will quickly go in water above rain boots, so those are only useful to me in non-chaotic situations.
Coates: Each one of us have "team science" written on one and then our names written on the other. So I think Jonathan is on his third pair of them. My first storm with AccuWeather was Harvey [covering the storm] with Reed [Timmer], and I wore Tevas and it just tore my feet apart. Then, with rain boots, water just gets in and your socks get soaked all day anyway, so it's really the best option. It seems crazy and I feel like people think we’re mocking, but it’s really the best option because your feet are going to get wet all day anyway.
Petramala: This was the first time I had a flip-flop fly away, but we recovered it.
Coates: So most people that I cover storms with and become buddies with along the way, I go to a Ross or Marshalls and buy them the $10.99 Adidas flip-flops for everyone. The morning after Delta, we were covered in mud but had our flip-flops still on.
Coates: I don’t know what started that trend. Reed would always have shoe problems, and so I would always buy him a pair. And then the people I met during storms was through him. This was the first time I met Aaron Rigsby, and he earned his Adidas stripes now. Next time I see him, I’ll have a pair ready for him!
From organizing flights to renting vehicles to finding a place to stay, gathering all of the details for proper storm coverage begins long before the cameras start rolling. Ensuring proper safety measures is always a top priority, and making sure reporters are in the right location means keeping a keen eye on the latest forecast updates.
Brandon Clement, storm chaser on assignment with AccuWeather: Covering hurricanes always presents many challenges, but Hurricane Delta had many more than normal. The first and most obvious was the location of the storm. Southwestern Louisiana is extremely difficult because anything along the coast is very vulnerable to storm surge and lots of it.
Petramala: Lower Cameron Parish is not a very populated area, and there aren’t necessarily any structures there I would be comfortable being inside and knowing I would be stuck there for a couple days afterwards.
Bill Wadell, AccuWeather National Reporter: The biggest challenges we faced while covering Hurricane Delta were determining what damage was already caused by Laura and what damage was just caused by Delta -- during the thick of the storm and in the days right after.
Clement: Travel logistics were difficult for this storm. We ended up having to park our vehicles inland and have people drop us off in Cypremort Point since there is no high ground. This meant bringing in a lot of equipment and not having transportation during and after the storm.
Petramala: These bottles of water were how I took a "shower" for two days.
Wadell: Filling up on gas, having enough water and food to be self sufficient is key, regardless of how big of a storm we’re covering. We don’t want to take away resources from anyone who needs them.
Clement: The forecast was important. If the storm had jogged east and did not weaken as much as forecast, then we could have seen double the amount of storm surge, meaning very few structures would be safe. The forecast of landfall location also allowed us to choose Cypremort Point and safely cover the impacts of storm surge since few options were available along the coast.
Petramala: An important part of my job is to be live on TV for 12-plus hours. My photographer needs protection from rain and wind, so an empty bayou doesn’t offer that. That means we need somewhere there is population. We found a spot in Cypremort Point that we believed would be safe and visual.
Clement: Given the uncertainties with the strength of the hurricane at landfall, we had to make arrangements for a helicopter to pick us up after in case surge prevented us from getting out.
Wadell: We’ve learned to stay fluid and flexible with our travel plans, and try to find a safe location before the worst storm impacts arrive. During Sally, we started in New Orleans and kept driving east, ending up all the way in Pensacola, Florida. For Delta, we started in New Orleans and ended up shifting all the way west to Lake Charles, Louisiana. [Over 200 miles and three hours of driving away]
Clement: We were not really trying to get into the eye and wanted to show the impact of storm surge as that was the biggest threat with Delta.
Wadell: The damage wasn’t as bad with Delta, but it felt like the emotional blow was worse. So many families in Lake Charles just had their power restored and repairs were underway or planned at their homes, then Delta blew apart all of that progress. I think this second storm has a lot of people thinking about their future there, but quite a few of the people I spoke with sounded determined to rebuild and keep calling Lake Charles home.
Clement: Before the storm, we spoke with locals, looked at homes, looked at elevation levels. The home where we stayed is located at one of the highest elevations in the area. It is built 20 feet above sea level. The pylons were driven 45-feet deep and were impact tested. The brackets holding joints together were custom designed and extremely heavy duty. The windows were impact glass resistant to hurricanes; the home had three stories. It is built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and storm surge to 20 feet before the home would even begin to incur any damage of significance.
Coates: It was a place that I instantly felt secure with. It was high enough and it was built well enough just by looking at the outside, and then once you got inside it certainly was.
Petramala: We might have lucked into the best situation you could be in for a hurricane. The house had a full home generator but no running water so we used coolers to capture water during the storm so we could flush toilets and wash dishes.
Numerous reporters, including AccuWeather's Jonathan Petramala, Andy Coates and Brandon Clement, stayed together at a fortified house during Hurricane Delta. (Photo via Andy Coates)
Coates: They were incredible hosts and apparently they were going to stay there either way. They certainly didn’t stay just because we were coming. So, that's the other nice thing, because I would never want someone to feel like they have to stay through a storm just because we’re staying in their house.
Petramala: This house was so well built, I didn’t even know a hurricane was happening while I was inside. The owner is the kind of guy who has his contractor put two screws in when only one is required.
Clement: We met many incredible people that offered up their homes, but everyone pointed to one man's home that was built like a fortress. He offered us a place to stay, food, drink and luxury accommodations along with a lot of fun.
Petramala: Everything was so well built that I believe it could handle any storm I have been in, including Hurricane Michael [which pummeled the Florida Panhandle in October 2018].
Positioning yourself in the perfectly ideal spot to capture a storm could all be for naught should any damaged equipment prevent a reporter from doing the job. For some, the art of protecting equipment in the craziest conditions has become an entire job in itself.
Coates: My biggest issue, especially with doing live shots, is with the gear. If anything gets wet and you can’t get live shots out, then you’re useless out there. So protecting everything is really my biggest issue -- whether it’s the cables, whether it’s the cameras, whether it’s the microphone. So for storms now, it’s gotten to the point that I tape trash bags around my stuff, even though I have the rainproof gear, I usually have to put that extra layer on just to keep everything covered. And then if any of your settings change, you just have to navigate from not being able to feel it … So the gear as a whole, just keeping that maintained, is definitely the hardest part, especially with Delta.
Wadell: Unlike Laura, which smashed out windows in my rental SUV, there was no damage sustained in Delta. The wind blew around one of our cords that connects to my earpiece so I can hear our broadcasters and producers during our live reports. That cord is now broken and out of commission, but that’s typical. If we get through a hurricane with only one damaged cord, that’s a win.
Clement: Aaron Rigsby [another storm reporter] and myself both lost cameras due to sea spray and water damage. There were other things lost along the way such as hats, flip-flops, a phone and other items; some recovered, some not. This all happened at Cypremort Point trying to shoot the big waves and storm surge and is rushed over the point.
AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala and videographer Andy Coates covering Hurricane Delta in Louisiana. (AccuWeather)
Petramala: Knock on wood, we have never damaged gear in a hurricane or vehicles. We focus on waterproofing gear and use cameras that are made to handle water, like GoPros, and like I said in this case, we left our cars in a safe place because, while we could escape above 20 feet, the cars couldn’t, so we didn’t risk them. If our stuff doesn’t work, then we can’t do our job, so it’s a priority to keep it safe.
Coates: I take the grocery store bags that you get and wrap them around my lights and that has worked for every storm since Harvey. You look for white ones to keep your light at the same color. But other than that, we use special tape for taping up the bags and then the GoPros and cell phones are such a blessing for these things, especially at night with Delta. Then we used the good cameras for the live shots.
While Coates has appreciated the adaptability provided by high-quality cell phone cameras, the use of one phone during Delta initially led to catastrophe, then injury, then heroics.
Petramala: A funny behind-the-scenes story: I was waiting for a live hit and it was at the peak of the surge, so I was getting video on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S20plus.
Coates: He had his waders and raincoat on, and we were standing in the middle of a 4-foot storm surge, and he goes to drop his phone into his waders, but it went in between his raincoat and waders, washed right down and we had no idea.
Petramala: I thought I had lost my phone, a ton of videos and memories. I was depressed because I NEVER lose things.
Coates: He was obviously upset. I went out late at night because we needed to get video, and the surge had gone down. And I see his damn phone sitting there. It had gone just right down the cliff and stopped because it was heavy enough. And it still worked because it was heavy enough.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Petramala: Hours later -- like maybe six hours -- I am getting ready for bed, and Andy, my photographer, knocks on the door. He has my PHONE! AND IT STILL WORKS PERFECTLY! What had happened was it washed away but landed just on the other side of the house. Either the pressure from the waterfall of water or it was just heavy enough, the phone stayed there. When the wind shifted and the water receded, Andy spotted it. Incredibly, I am still using it normally today.
Coates: So crazy. We had great luck this time.
However, amid his heroic mission to save Jonathan's phone, Andy took a spill that dealt him a memorable scar for his efforts.
Coates: That’s how I busted my knee, going down that cliff to grab his phone. I was so excited to see it and the steps were so slippery; they were covered in mud from the surge. I was so excited to see it, and then first step, I went straight down. He was so heartbroken that he had lost it; it had everything on it because it was his personal phone: family photos and everything. I was definitely the hero strutting back in with my bloody knee and holding his phone over my head.
Coates: We would never do anything that would put any of us in danger or question the credibility of the network. That’s what we strived for again with this one.
Petramala: I just use common sense. My risk tolerance is maybe a little higher than someone else's, but my mom would get angry if I did anything dumb, so I just always try to put myself in the safest most dangerous place I can find. This storm is a perfect example of that.
Wadell: We typically make a game plan for where we plan to ride out the storm, where we hope to stay for the night, where to go if there’s powerful winds or storm surge. Where there are open parking garages if we need to get to higher ground. You don’t want to end up in the middle of a storm without a plan.
Petramala: Around us were very dangerous conditions, but we never felt nervous because we had prepared and put ourselves in a position to be safe and successfully fulfill our reporting roles for the network.
Coates: You get in the safest possible spot, then you do your best to capture the coolest possible stuff. I know people get irritated about how we have to stand in the middle of a hurricane, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I feel you need to show people. And show why you need to get out of there if you don’t have somewhere safe to go like we did.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo
News / Hurricane
So you want to be a storm chaser? Read this first
By Mark Puleo, AccuWeather staff writer
AccuWeather's meteorologists and storm chasers worked around the clock to bring viewers the most up-to-date coverage throughout Hurricane Delta's landfall.
Hurricane Delta was a memorable storm for the history books and the Louisiana residents who were dealt a second landfalling hurricane in their state, just six weeks after Hurricane Laura wreaked havoc.
But while record keepers will remember Delta for plenty of historical reasons, for veteran national weather reporters, like the ones who covered the storm for AccuWeather, the memories from Delta will stick for a plethora of other reasons.
Behind the scenes, years of experience led to days of preparations for hours of travel and minutes of breath-taking reporting based on split-second decisions. Not all of those incredible stories made it onto The AccuWeather Network, however.
Here are some of those incredible stories behind the stories, told by none other than the reporters on the ground themselves. Read on for an oral history of what it was like to cover Hurricane Delta.
But before diving into the backstories and logistics of the reporters, we had to ask: What's up with the footwear we see them wearing -- even in extreme situations like what's pictured below?
AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala and videographer Andy Coates covering Hurricane Delta in Louisiana. (AccuWeather)
The flip-flops
While reporting on Delta's heavy winds on Oct. 9, Petramala lost a flip-flop that captured the intensity of the storm's strength. The story behind those flip-flops turned out to be even more interesting.
Jonathan Petramala, AccuWeather National Reporter: That particular style of slips is sort of an inside thing between Reed Timmer, Andy, myself and a couple more people.
Andy Coates, videographer on assignment for AccuWeather: So, I actually buy everyone these flip-flops because they are the best thing to cover storms in.
Petramala: The easy answer is that of all the things to wear wet, wet socks are the worst. Often, we will quickly go in water above rain boots, so those are only useful to me in non-chaotic situations.
Coates: Each one of us have "team science" written on one and then our names written on the other. So I think Jonathan is on his third pair of them. My first storm with AccuWeather was Harvey [covering the storm] with Reed [Timmer], and I wore Tevas and it just tore my feet apart. Then, with rain boots, water just gets in and your socks get soaked all day anyway, so it's really the best option. It seems crazy and I feel like people think we’re mocking, but it’s really the best option because your feet are going to get wet all day anyway.
Petramala: This was the first time I had a flip-flop fly away, but we recovered it.
Coates: So most people that I cover storms with and become buddies with along the way, I go to a Ross or Marshalls and buy them the $10.99 Adidas flip-flops for everyone. The morning after Delta, we were covered in mud but had our flip-flops still on.
Coates: I don’t know what started that trend. Reed would always have shoe problems, and so I would always buy him a pair. And then the people I met during storms was through him. This was the first time I met Aaron Rigsby, and he earned his Adidas stripes now. Next time I see him, I’ll have a pair ready for him!
The logistics
From organizing flights to renting vehicles to finding a place to stay, gathering all of the details for proper storm coverage begins long before the cameras start rolling. Ensuring proper safety measures is always a top priority, and making sure reporters are in the right location means keeping a keen eye on the latest forecast updates.
Brandon Clement, storm chaser on assignment with AccuWeather: Covering hurricanes always presents many challenges, but Hurricane Delta had many more than normal. The first and most obvious was the location of the storm. Southwestern Louisiana is extremely difficult because anything along the coast is very vulnerable to storm surge and lots of it.
Petramala: Lower Cameron Parish is not a very populated area, and there aren’t necessarily any structures there I would be comfortable being inside and knowing I would be stuck there for a couple days afterwards.
Bill Wadell, AccuWeather National Reporter: The biggest challenges we faced while covering Hurricane Delta were determining what damage was already caused by Laura and what damage was just caused by Delta -- during the thick of the storm and in the days right after.
Clement: Travel logistics were difficult for this storm. We ended up having to park our vehicles inland and have people drop us off in Cypremort Point since there is no high ground. This meant bringing in a lot of equipment and not having transportation during and after the storm.
Petramala: These bottles of water were how I took a "shower" for two days.
Wadell: Filling up on gas, having enough water and food to be self sufficient is key, regardless of how big of a storm we’re covering. We don’t want to take away resources from anyone who needs them.
The forecast
Clement: The forecast was important. If the storm had jogged east and did not weaken as much as forecast, then we could have seen double the amount of storm surge, meaning very few structures would be safe. The forecast of landfall location also allowed us to choose Cypremort Point and safely cover the impacts of storm surge since few options were available along the coast.
Petramala: An important part of my job is to be live on TV for 12-plus hours. My photographer needs protection from rain and wind, so an empty bayou doesn’t offer that. That means we need somewhere there is population. We found a spot in Cypremort Point that we believed would be safe and visual.
Clement: Given the uncertainties with the strength of the hurricane at landfall, we had to make arrangements for a helicopter to pick us up after in case surge prevented us from getting out.
Wadell: We’ve learned to stay fluid and flexible with our travel plans, and try to find a safe location before the worst storm impacts arrive. During Sally, we started in New Orleans and kept driving east, ending up all the way in Pensacola, Florida. For Delta, we started in New Orleans and ended up shifting all the way west to Lake Charles, Louisiana. [Over 200 miles and three hours of driving away]
Clement: We were not really trying to get into the eye and wanted to show the impact of storm surge as that was the biggest threat with Delta.
Wadell: The damage wasn’t as bad with Delta, but it felt like the emotional blow was worse. So many families in Lake Charles just had their power restored and repairs were underway or planned at their homes, then Delta blew apart all of that progress. I think this second storm has a lot of people thinking about their future there, but quite a few of the people I spoke with sounded determined to rebuild and keep calling Lake Charles home.
The house
Clement: Before the storm, we spoke with locals, looked at homes, looked at elevation levels. The home where we stayed is located at one of the highest elevations in the area. It is built 20 feet above sea level. The pylons were driven 45-feet deep and were impact tested. The brackets holding joints together were custom designed and extremely heavy duty. The windows were impact glass resistant to hurricanes; the home had three stories. It is built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane and storm surge to 20 feet before the home would even begin to incur any damage of significance.
Coates: It was a place that I instantly felt secure with. It was high enough and it was built well enough just by looking at the outside, and then once you got inside it certainly was.
Petramala: We might have lucked into the best situation you could be in for a hurricane. The house had a full home generator but no running water so we used coolers to capture water during the storm so we could flush toilets and wash dishes.
Numerous reporters, including AccuWeather's Jonathan Petramala, Andy Coates and Brandon Clement, stayed together at a fortified house during Hurricane Delta. (Photo via Andy Coates)
Coates: They were incredible hosts and apparently they were going to stay there either way. They certainly didn’t stay just because we were coming. So, that's the other nice thing, because I would never want someone to feel like they have to stay through a storm just because we’re staying in their house.
Petramala: This house was so well built, I didn’t even know a hurricane was happening while I was inside. The owner is the kind of guy who has his contractor put two screws in when only one is required.
Clement: We met many incredible people that offered up their homes, but everyone pointed to one man's home that was built like a fortress. He offered us a place to stay, food, drink and luxury accommodations along with a lot of fun.
Petramala: Everything was so well built that I believe it could handle any storm I have been in, including Hurricane Michael [which pummeled the Florida Panhandle in October 2018].
The equipment
Positioning yourself in the perfectly ideal spot to capture a storm could all be for naught should any damaged equipment prevent a reporter from doing the job. For some, the art of protecting equipment in the craziest conditions has become an entire job in itself.
Coates: My biggest issue, especially with doing live shots, is with the gear. If anything gets wet and you can’t get live shots out, then you’re useless out there. So protecting everything is really my biggest issue -- whether it’s the cables, whether it’s the cameras, whether it’s the microphone. So for storms now, it’s gotten to the point that I tape trash bags around my stuff, even though I have the rainproof gear, I usually have to put that extra layer on just to keep everything covered. And then if any of your settings change, you just have to navigate from not being able to feel it … So the gear as a whole, just keeping that maintained, is definitely the hardest part, especially with Delta.
Wadell: Unlike Laura, which smashed out windows in my rental SUV, there was no damage sustained in Delta. The wind blew around one of our cords that connects to my earpiece so I can hear our broadcasters and producers during our live reports. That cord is now broken and out of commission, but that’s typical. If we get through a hurricane with only one damaged cord, that’s a win.
Clement: Aaron Rigsby [another storm reporter] and myself both lost cameras due to sea spray and water damage. There were other things lost along the way such as hats, flip-flops, a phone and other items; some recovered, some not. This all happened at Cypremort Point trying to shoot the big waves and storm surge and is rushed over the point.
AccuWeather National Reporter Jonathan Petramala and videographer Andy Coates covering Hurricane Delta in Louisiana. (AccuWeather)
Petramala: Knock on wood, we have never damaged gear in a hurricane or vehicles. We focus on waterproofing gear and use cameras that are made to handle water, like GoPros, and like I said in this case, we left our cars in a safe place because, while we could escape above 20 feet, the cars couldn’t, so we didn’t risk them. If our stuff doesn’t work, then we can’t do our job, so it’s a priority to keep it safe.
Coates: I take the grocery store bags that you get and wrap them around my lights and that has worked for every storm since Harvey. You look for white ones to keep your light at the same color. But other than that, we use special tape for taping up the bags and then the GoPros and cell phones are such a blessing for these things, especially at night with Delta. Then we used the good cameras for the live shots.
The cell phone
While Coates has appreciated the adaptability provided by high-quality cell phone cameras, the use of one phone during Delta initially led to catastrophe, then injury, then heroics.
Petramala: A funny behind-the-scenes story: I was waiting for a live hit and it was at the peak of the surge, so I was getting video on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S20plus.
Coates: He had his waders and raincoat on, and we were standing in the middle of a 4-foot storm surge, and he goes to drop his phone into his waders, but it went in between his raincoat and waders, washed right down and we had no idea.
Petramala: I thought I had lost my phone, a ton of videos and memories. I was depressed because I NEVER lose things.
Coates: He was obviously upset. I went out late at night because we needed to get video, and the surge had gone down. And I see his damn phone sitting there. It had gone just right down the cliff and stopped because it was heavy enough. And it still worked because it was heavy enough.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Petramala: Hours later -- like maybe six hours -- I am getting ready for bed, and Andy, my photographer, knocks on the door. He has my PHONE! AND IT STILL WORKS PERFECTLY! What had happened was it washed away but landed just on the other side of the house. Either the pressure from the waterfall of water or it was just heavy enough, the phone stayed there. When the wind shifted and the water receded, Andy spotted it. Incredibly, I am still using it normally today.
Coates: So crazy. We had great luck this time.
However, amid his heroic mission to save Jonathan's phone, Andy took a spill that dealt him a memorable scar for his efforts.
Coates: That’s how I busted my knee, going down that cliff to grab his phone. I was so excited to see it and the steps were so slippery; they were covered in mud from the surge. I was so excited to see it, and then first step, I went straight down. He was so heartbroken that he had lost it; it had everything on it because it was his personal phone: family photos and everything. I was definitely the hero strutting back in with my bloody knee and holding his phone over my head.
The life of a storm chaser
Coates: We would never do anything that would put any of us in danger or question the credibility of the network. That’s what we strived for again with this one.
Petramala: I just use common sense. My risk tolerance is maybe a little higher than someone else's, but my mom would get angry if I did anything dumb, so I just always try to put myself in the safest most dangerous place I can find. This storm is a perfect example of that.
Wadell: We typically make a game plan for where we plan to ride out the storm, where we hope to stay for the night, where to go if there’s powerful winds or storm surge. Where there are open parking garages if we need to get to higher ground. You don’t want to end up in the middle of a storm without a plan.
Petramala: Around us were very dangerous conditions, but we never felt nervous because we had prepared and put ourselves in a position to be safe and successfully fulfill our reporting roles for the network.
Coates: You get in the safest possible spot, then you do your best to capture the coolest possible stuff. I know people get irritated about how we have to stand in the middle of a hurricane, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I feel you need to show people. And show why you need to get out of there if you don’t have somewhere safe to go like we did.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo