re: What is the most intense weather you’ve witnessed?

Hurricane Charley - in Orlando 2004. Irma last year, here a distant second. Charley barreled thru here like a giant tornado - was very compact for hurricane and moving so quickly it didn't have time to wind down much like most hurricanes do by the time they hit us here. It was dark which made it more frightening. At first I thought it was cool, was videoing some of the big gusts on our front porch (downwind side) while my pregnant wife sat on pillows on the floor in the dark hallway (our 'safe room'). As it really started to pick up and I started hearing bangs and bumps I decided to go be with her becuase I thought at that moomenet if the roof blew off and i was out there filming it she would never forgive me. So just as we settled down, above the roar of the wind we started hearing loud, and earth shaking thumps from all directions. I could imaging our roof being ripped up and our screened in aluminum back porch blowing away. We shut all the doors in the hallway and could feel a pretty strong wind coming in under the doors. I just knew windows were gone and trees were crushing the roof. Thankfully none of that happened but four very large oaks had fallen all around the house just missing ours, but unfortunately not our neighbors. The winds as recorded at the airport topped out at 105mph, which is a lot considering the storm crossed over 100 miles of land after making landfall sw of us. The worst of that storm lasted less than an hour, but the damage around Orlando was remarkable and unforgettable. One of the most memorable images in my mind was seeing the facade ripped off of one side of the 15 story Marriot Hotel building downtown. Other storms like Irma last year, Frances and Jeanne later that same season were slow moving and much less vicious, although still formidable in their own right - they just didn't deliver that sudden jolt of fury that Charley wrought on that evening of Friday the 13th many years ago.

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The April 2015 derecho that turned the Baton Rouge sky black as night at 9 am.

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Boy, do I remember that. How we didn't have a tornado outbreak in this town that day is a miracle. That was truly surreal.

Was in Philippines for a typhoon that dumped 24" in 48 hours.

Was in two blizzards that dumped 27" snow.

Was in many floods in USA.

So far the most stress was a forest fire that developed its own weather. Packed in 5 minutes. Had to drive toward the fire to get someone without a car.
Amazing tidbit. The fire spread ahead of main fire due to its high winds and burning cinders on fire flew ahead, so there were burning houses on ridgetops beyond me.
When we were allowed back I observed 100s of cinders on my cement driveway. There were none on the yard, on the oak leaves and pine needles.
Whew.
Strange minor miracle. I'm grateful. I was only ensured for the mortgage. Now I am ensured for replacement cost.
When I sold the house with cinders on driveway, I got the amount out of it to buy current house outright with cash and plenty over to get all new appliances and painted inside and out.
Amen. I also got earthquake insurance on latest house first time in my life.
I can see a volcano with a live magma chamber from my porch.

Tornadoes in Murfreesboro, TN. I was in college, watching it rip through town from the frat house windows. There were something like 85 tornadoes over the course of 3 days, from Nashville, Murfreesboro to Arkansas. It was surreal.

LINK

video of nado

Also, the 2010 floods the very next year. This was terrifying.



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I made a lot of tax free money doing clean up after these floods.

building floating down i24

Hawaii, I assume?

Hurricane Andrew was a bitch