Living in Wisconsin, I've experienced all sorts of weather. There's the stereotypical rainstorm, maybe with a bit of thunder and lightning, snowstorms that knock out power for a day or so and freeze everything in their path and bright days filled with sunshine and cool fall temperatures. But I've never experienced something quite like a hurricane, until last week that is.
I've been traveling to Central Florida with my family for my entire life, but Hurricane Matthew was the first time I encountered a hurricane in real life. Having grown up watching reports of hurricanes like Katrina, Charlie and Sandy, I knew the potential of the dangerous storm, especially as it quickly approached the Florida coastline, but at the same time, I had no idea what it would actually be like.
Before the storm rolled into town, there was no sign that something of the magnitude of a hurricane was heading your way, at least where I was. Very little at Walt Disney World, where I was staying for the duration of the storm, changes, aside from tables being moved inside and a tent or light being tied down here or there. The skies, up until only hours before the first wall hit, were blue and sunny, and a light breeze kept the usually sweltering temperatures of Florida at bay.
By late afternoon, rain was starting to fall. It was light at first, with very little wind, typical of an afternoon Florida storm, but it got heavier as time went on. Around five in the afternoon, the first wall passed by Walt Disney World, bringing with it heavy rain that fell in sheets and strong wind that blew through the trees. In other words, it was our first real experience with a hurricane.
The lucky moment for everyone in Florida was the 11 o'clock shift that took the center of the storm further to the East than initially anticipated. I was in my hotel at the time, watching the news from my bed. Thankfully, I was in one of the safest places to ride out a storm like Hurricane Matthew. Walt Disney World was constructed with these storms in mind, and I was continuously impressed with the cast members working overtime to make sure everyone was safe, happy and healthy. The newscasters, on the other hand, looked like they hadn't slept in days.
Throughout the night, I woke roughly every two hours, more because I hate storms than because I actually had something to worry about. My curtains were drawn, so I couldn't actually see what was going on outside my window, but around four in the morning, I woke to the distinct sound of wind beating against the side of the building. I'd heard descriptions of the sound before, always comparing it to the sound of a train, and that's exactly how I would describe it. It wasn't particularly loud, or at least, not as loud as it could have been, but it still definitely sounded like the transcontinental railroad was passing by my balcony.
After that, the morning brought mostly wind and by mid-afternoon the next day, the curfew on the Orlando area was lifted. We took the time to go out and explore the area around our resort, which was connected to several of the other resorts and two of the theme parks, which remained closed for the rest of the day. Mostly we encountered wind with gusts reaching up to 40 minutes per hour, and a bit of rain here and there, but as night fell, it once again seemed like a typical Florida evening, the hurricane almost completely forgotten in the minds of Disney Resort Guests.
For others along the coastline, Hurricane Matthew would continue to batter homes and communities, especially as it reached further up into the Carolinas, and I've been keeping all those affected by this storm in my thoughts over the past week. I was lucky, but I don't take that for granted. I hugged my friends a bit tighter when I returned home this week, and will not soon forget my first experience with a hurricane.
Let's just hope the next experience doesn't come too soon.
