Renowned storm chaser builds hurricane-resistant house on Gulf Coast
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - In the wake of a new hurricane season, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is set to welcome a distinguished resident known worldwide for his relentless pursuit of nature’s fiercest tempests.
Meet Josh Morgerman, acclaimed as iCyclone or the hurricane man, who has braved hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones across the globe. While his expeditions have taken him far and wide, since the 2020 hurricane season, Morgerman has found solace in Bay St. Louis, establishing what he affectionately calls his “hurricane house.”
“So I’ve been inside the inner cores of 67 hurricanes and typhoons, and that’s a world record. There is no one who has been in more hurricanes and typhoons than I’ve been,” Morgerman said.
Since the 2020 hurricane season, Josh has spent the summers and falls in Bay St. Louis. Collaborating with builder Bo Ladner from Paramount Contracting, Morgerman has embarked on a mission to create the ultimate hurricane-resistant dwelling.
“This house is going to be a bunker in any category hurricane. Everything from building with two-by-six studs to using special sheathing that’s stronger and stiffer than normal sheathing, to having a standing seam roof that’s rated for winds over 200 miles per hour,” Morgerman said.
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Morgerman and Ladner are putting their heads together and working to get the most hurricane-resistant house possible. The goal for them is to get the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s “Fortified Gold” certification, the most superior protection your home can have against these powerful storms.
“What I’ve learned being in a lot of hurricanes is once a window breaks, once a door blows off, once the wind gets inside the structure, that’s when you are in trouble. That’s when the real problems happen. So you have to make sure the wind never gets in,” Morgerman said. “The lesson I’ve taken away from that is you can build for extreme winds. If you build properly, if you engineer properly and use the right materials, and you put in the care and the time, you can make a wind-resistant home.”
As the new hurricane season gathers momentum, Morgerman’s decision to transform his seasonal retreat into an impenetrable fortress reflects the growing realization of the need for proactive hurricane preparedness. With a deep understanding of the devastating impact these storms can have on coastal communities, the hurricane man is determined to lead by example, demonstrating that fortifying homes against nature’s fury is not only prudent but essential.
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