Hurricane Dorian (2019): Category 5 footage (185mph/295kmh+), Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas
3,933,579
Published 2021-09-01
"This has to be the most incredible footage ever captured of a category 5 hurricane" –Reed Timmer, Ph.D., twitter.com/ReedTimmerAccu/status/1438529459464941…. On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian became the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in the modern era, with 185 mph (295 kmh) winds and higher gusts in the Abaco Islands. Dorian's extreme winds, storm surge, and rain brought unimaginable devastation to tens of thousands of people in the northwestern Bahamas, where the communities of the Abacos and Grand Bahama are still trying to recover to this day.
— DISCLAIMER:
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EMULATE ANY PART OF THIS FOOTAGE. Natural disasters are dangerous and can cause major physical or emotional trauma before, during, or after such events. A tropical cyclone landfall may last from hours to days, with basic needs and services unavailable during the event and indefinitely afterward. All severe weather and associated warnings should be taken seriously to prevent property damage, injury, or death. I hereby disclaim any and all liability from personal or material damages suffered as a result of attempting what is shown in this video OR any imitative acts of similar nature.
This video, in part or in whole, is NOT FOR BROADCAST. Exceptions may be made for media or other organizations in the Bahamas, or for non-profit, disaster-related outreach (DM information below). Unauthorized or unlicensed usage may result in a copyright claim. This video should be shown for educational or awareness purposes only, never for commercial use. I have not monetized this YouTube video and I will not monetize it in the future. This video is not sponsored or endorsed by any individuals, organizations, companies, or institutions. I am not responsible for, or profiting from, advertisements that may appear on this video. The center watermark is to deter the unauthorized usage of any part of this video on any commercial channel or platform, and I apologize for its inconvenience.
— Additional information:
Filmed with GoPro HERO7 and iPhone XS at Abaco Beach Resort, Marsh Harbour. The GoPro footage was captured using a wide-angle lens which has been cropped to 16:9 resolution, causing the POV in some parts of the video to appear much closer to the winds than reality. The eyewall portion of the video was taken from inside a concrete stairwell facing generally perpendicular to the wind within a reasonably sturdy structure, which was an incredibly fortunate set of circumstances for continued recording. Always stay as far away as possible from ANY areas, such as the corridor in front of the stairwell used in the video, exposed to airborne debris.
The times at the bottom indicate only the start time of each sequence. The times shown are local: Atlantic Standard Time, equivalent to U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.
There is unfortunately some jittering in some parts of the aftermath section of the video, which may have been a result of combining GoPro and iPhone footage with different FPS and video resolution.
Due to the volume of YouTube comments, my ability to respond will be limited. For scientific or chase-specific questions, DM me at one of the below:
Reddit: /u/jimmy_yunge
IG: @jimmy_yunge
Other social media:
Bluesky (DMs unavailable currently): @jimmy-yunge.bsky.social
Reddit thread with some Q&A: www.reddit.com/r/TropicalWeather/comments/pg2r04/t…
All Comments (21)
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Hello everyone, My apologies for the lack of activity on this channel. I am currently finishing my graduate degree in meteorology, where my research is on the physics of the lower part of the hurricane eyewall. In particular, I have been studying small-scale "waves" that appear in some powerful storms including Dorian, which may help explain why or how some hurricanes intensify rapidly or reach such extreme wind speeds. Unfortunately, the workload in addition to some health issues meant that I have not been able to chase very often and provide more videos. I am very thankful for everyone who subscribed, but I wanted to mention that you should not expect regular uploads from me. I don't really consider myself a content creator so it would be difficult physically and emotionally to follow the weather media model currently popular in the community. How often I chase after I graduate will depend on what and where my new research position is, and those details are just too uncertain at this point. September 1, 2024 will mark the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Dorian's landfall in Abaco, and I may take that day to upload a new version of this video without a watermark (or at least a much less intrusive one) and maybe some more commentary. This video has basically all of the footage that I took, however, so there wouldn't be any new clips of the actual storm. I am thankful for all of the moving comments on this video sharing in the sheer power of nature, and I don't think it will be possible to keep them, so I'm not sure what I will do yet. I would also like to visit Abaco again and hopefully reconnect with people I met during Dorian and see how the island is doing. Wishing peace and safety to all in this New Year. -JY
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Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing the best close-up footage of a category 5 hurricane ever recorded by mankind!
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Full respect for the camera man who nearly risked his life to give us the best footage of a hurricane up close
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19:09 The center of the eye. That’s almost as scary as the wind speeds, knowing the storm is only half over.
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Reed Timmer is right. In my opinion this has to be the best hurricane footage/mini-documentary ever made. Big ups to the photographer for battling conditions that dangerous to shoot this film with a steady hand. And the fact that you let the images and the original sound speak for themselves with no attempts to add dramatizing music and that sorts is a big, big plus. Best wishes from a Danish weather enthusiast.
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You captured 180+ MPH Gust 💨 on film. Only a few have lived to tell the story. I’m grateful for this footage, you put us literally inside the worst part of this Hurricane. God bless
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This is the most insane hurricane footage I have ever seen.
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These tremendous gusts have been trigered by this scary pressure gradient Dorian had, without a doubt. This video is truly unique, a documentation without yelling, shaking camera or fast cuts using. The winds are easily the strongest ever recorded outside of a tornado. You can see the intensification steps at 8:50, 10:21 and 12:50, the two 220 mph gusts at 11:41 and 14:35. To bad there was no possibilty to film the second eyewall, but thank you for sharing this with us!
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I come back to this footage every now and then and its truly jaw dropping. It doesnt even look real how violent the wind is. Truly some of the best hurricane footage ever taken.
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This is by far the best hurricane footage I have ever seen. And I deeply appreciate your compassion and consideration of the people who lived through it and now have to rebuild. Well Done Sir.
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Massive respect for the palm trees for surviving a cat 5 hurricane
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I was shocked and got impatient so I fast forwarded a bit.. my jaw hit the floor. I had no idea it could get worse. I am stunned. I cannot imagine the PTSD you'd get living through this. My heart goes out to all of those that survived this. You're so brave and so much stronger than you realize
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This is by far the best footage of Dorian, and also just about the most amazing hurricane footage ever. Just as much a contribution to science as it is to journalism. I can't imagine what it's like to live through something like this.
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You were in very extreme danger recording this, especially 12:00 pm. I have seen the eye wall of 4 major hurricanes and I can say I hope we never have to endure a full blown cat 5 like this one. You, Sir are very brave and have giant balls standing outside of that stairwell.
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Omg, not many people understand exactly how strong these winds are. This is truly the strongest I have ever seen recorded. God bless you for living through this.
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This was my home, I'm a survivor of this monster storm. I was a few minutes drive away fighting to avoid my collapsing house. Watching this does not compare to being in it trust me!
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the most incredible storm footage I've ever seen, those winds just kept getting stronger and stronger, wow! Thanks for sharing this and glad you're ok
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I have a friend who says that they would like to see a really intense hurricane hit. I showed them this video and they changed their mind on the spot. Thank you for your courage to take this video in a real nasty hurricane.
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It felt like I was right there with you, this has got to be some of the best footage I’ve ever seen, no annoying yelling, just pure relentless Mother Nature, I’m extremely glad you filmed the aftermath, thanks for this footage and stay safe!
