Cody Howard has finally returned home to Lubbock after spending nearly two weeks down on Saint Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
“It was extremely loud when the eye wall hit. We had sustained winds hitting 180-185 miles per hour. We had gusts over 200 mph,” Howard said.
Howard works as a freelance photographer and voluntarily went down to the storm. He said they were expecting Irma to hit as a Category 3 storm, but when they arrived it had built up to a Cat 5.
“Our hotel was a solid conceret structure and it was moving cause of the wind,” Howard said.
After being turned down to board a Marriott Cruise Ship that came to rescue others on the island, Howard said they finally were able to get on a Norwegian Cruise Line in route for Miami, Florida.
“Finally Tuesday morning we look out into the bay and see this big Norwegian Cruise Ship. It was a feeling of solace, you see this beautiful boat there,” Howard said.
Howard said even though Hurricane Irma was a scary experience, he will still continue to chase storms.
“It was probably the craziest hurricane I will ever see but I’ll be back for the next one,” Howard said.
