Video posted to Twitter by a team of storm chasers illustrates the extreme wind brought by Hurricane Irma.
Juston Drake and Simon Brewer from Stormgasm.com positioned themselves near Naval Air Station Key West early Sunday morning.
The pair said they measured wind speeds of up to 117mph in the eyewall.
@SimonStormRider getting wind measurements out in the eyewall as well. Got a 117 mph wind gust. pic.twitter.com/PVEPP8FbtB— Juston Drake (@JustonStrmRider) September 10, 2017
@JustonStrmRider tearing it up! pic.twitter.com/VhC97GZJBa— Simon Brewer (@SimonStormRider) September 10, 2017
Just getting more windy… @JustonStrmRider pic.twitter.com/EvdeXKJCMJ— Simon Brewer (@SimonStormRider) September 10, 2017
I’m sorry but this is stupid.— Georg Papp (@GeorgPapp) September 10, 2017
Don’t do this! I don’t care if it’s great video. This is irresponsible and setting a bad example. This guy is lucky he didn’t kill himself.— Justin Berk (@JustinWeather) September 10, 2017
“Curfew? I don’t need to follow no curfew” – Please stay inside. Sight-seeing could put your life in danger.— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) September 10, 2017
Many on Twitter reacted negatively to the videos, saying it was irresponsible to risk their lives in a hurricane.
According to its website, Stormgasm is a group of ‘hardcore storm chasers’ that chases all types of storms across the country. Both Drake and Brewer have been featured on the Weather Channel show Storm Riders.