It’s June 1st, the first day of hurricane season. We find ways to prepare for a storm. We stock up on supplies, stay up to date on the forecast, and then sometimes wait out the storm. For Floridians, living through a hurricane is just part of the panhandle experience. Here are a handful of storm stories for this week’s edition of people of UNF.
“I’m pretty sure it was in 2004 and my parents friends came over because they lived in a trailer so there were 8 people trapped in our house. The kids ended up making a fort in my sisters closet because it was under the stairs and we spent most of the day just hanging out in there and reading books with flashlights. Once the power came back on and the storm calmed down, we watched movies and eventually had a little pool party even though it was still pretty windy. It ended up being a good day even though it was a scary storm.”
“I lived at the beach where there was a lot of flooding and a lot of the stuff outside got really messy and there were palm fronds everywhere, nothing really ever happened to my house though. I (also) have 5 siblings and we would hangout and watch movies without leaving. My brother goes and surfs some times during hurricane season because the waves are awesome!”
“So I think it was in 2009, I was a senior in high school and I forget what hurricane came but our power was out for like a week. So we, my family and I, had to bath on the pool deck in bathing suits, so that was fun. It was so weird. It was really hot so I usually did it twice a day, morning and night because we didn’t have AC.”
“So I was debating if I should paddle out during this tropical storm Bret because the waves were double over my head. My best friend Dallas and I decided to paddle out. With everything going our way, catching the best waves of our lives we thought nothing could wrong. As Dallas caught his last wave in, I waited for one last set. Then I saw it, the perfect 10-foot wave. When I dropped in on it I knew instantly I was doomed. I placed my foot right were there was no wax and fell hard. After getting thrown around for 30 seconds under water I came up gasping for air. The wave ripped my leash off my board leaving me 150 yards out in 10-foot waves. Right after I was hit with another wave crashing on top of me. I thought I was going to drown. Dallas saw my board wash up and said he thought the worst. After nearly drowning I made it to the shore and I’ve never seen my friend so happy to see me. I was so happy to be alive I just laid on the shore, thanking god I didn’t drown out there. Needles to say, older and more prepared, I’m ready for some storms off our coast to bring some waves.”
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