Special screenings of ‘Hurricane 3D’ at Imax A Category 4 storm on a six-story Imax screen will blow you away

Hold on to your hats because a storm’s brewing at the Tennessee Aquarium Imax 3D Theater.

From Friday- Sunday, May 5 -7, special screenings of “Hurricane 3D,” a new Imax adventure, will fill the theater’s massive six-story screen.

Hurricanes are the most powerful storm systems the atmosphere can brew. On Chattanooga’s largest screen, audiences will learn more about the forces that contribute to the birth and the awe-inspiring power of these systems.

“Giant-screen theaters are the perfect platform for this heart- pounding story of one of nature’s most destructive forces,” says Eric Dillens, chairman of nWave Pictures.

“The filmmakers have delivered an extraordinarily immersive journey; one that combines real- life drama with the science and technology behind tracking and understanding how a hurricane forms and the systems in place to mitigate the damages.”

The film’s “main character” is Hurricane Lucy, a fictional storm whose growth is based on the development of several actual hurricanes that filmmakers documented over a five-year period.

Audiences will follow Lucy’s transformation along a 15,000-kilometer journey beginning with a gentle breeze over the African Sahel that grows into a life-giving monsoon before swelling to monumental proportions over the Atlantic Ocean.

Ships are tossed on growing ocean swells. Violent winds and torrential rains of Hurricane Lucy crash into the rain forests of the Caribbean before causing immense storm surges in the Gulf of Mexico.

Along the way, the film peeks into the lives of a host of supporting characters: the men, women, plants and animals in Lucy’s path who are affected by it, for better or worse.

“Hurricane 3D” follows meteorologists and emergency crews as they battle to predict the storm’s path, while those in harm’s way prepare for the worst. NASA’s satellites and hurricane tracking aircraft capture the enormity of the storm.

Viewers will see the environmental impact on coral reefs, agriculture and wildlife as the Category 4 hurricane engulfs the region. But once the damage is cleared, the regenerative power of nature is captured as audiences witness the rebirth of a rain forest and the return of its hardiest creatures.

“Beyond the question of where hurricanes strike, we wanted to tell the tales of the wind. To speak of winds beyond imagination,” said the film’s producer Andy Byatt. “To understand the stress of waiting; the relief of the near miss. We wanted to observe the fragility and resilience of nature, to discover what the mightiest weather system on earth means to all those who live beneath its shadow.”

The theater’s Imax with Laser projection system and revamped sound system will render the film’s imagery in stunning detail, from orbital images of hypnotically swirling cloud patterns to on-theground scenes where the storm’s colossal power is in full effect.

These special previews of “Hurricane 3D” arrive in timely fashion, just a few weeks before the onset of the Atlantic hurricane season, which starts on June 1.

Tickets to see “Hurricane 3D” are $ 11.95 for adults, $9.95 for children ages 3 to 12. Members of the Tennessee Aquarium Imax Club can attend screenings of this and all 45- minute documentary films for free.

For more information: visit tnaqua.org/imax.

NWAVE PICTURES PHOTO The aftermath of a hurricane.