SAN ANTONIO — A storm chaser from San Antonio was right there when Beryl made landfall Monday morning in Matagorda, Texas.
Brandon Rosier is with Texas Vortex Storm Chase Team, made up of enthusiasts, storm spotters and meteorologists across the country. The group helps virtually and on the ground.
"It is a very early storm," Rosier said of Beryl when KENS 5 spoke to him Monday. "I think I am going on hour number 18 right straight into this storm."
"I have been storm chasing a little over 10 years now," Rosier said. "I got into it as a hobby. Seeing it on TV and seeing it in person are two completely different things."
Rosier was right there in Matagorda when Beryl came knocking. It made landfall just right before 4 a.m. as a Category 1 hurricane.
"We definitely had some good wind gusts," he said. "I think some of the measurements we had were up to 95 miles an hour at some point."
Rosier and the team take notes to further study these types of weather events.
"Being able to track what is happening, what is the pressure, what is the wind speed, and those different aspects."
He said safety is always top of mind for them.
"You also have to be aware of your surroundings, such as is there any sheet metal that's going to come flying towards me," he said.
Rosier said what made tracking Beryl a tad difficult is the fact it came ashore when it was dark.
"I think one of the main threats for Beryl was it was an early morning storm in darkness," he said. "Having night time versus daytime storms are two completely different beasts."
When it got light out, he said debris could be seen all over the roads. Rosier said they saw a substantial amount of damage.
"It was a really powerful storm glad I had the opportunity to really go out and analyze it and just get a lot of really good raw data," he said.
Rosier will now analyze the data and look at the case notes. He said that, especially with Beryl, he wants to really look into why it increased in size and strength so quickly.
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