Worst weather event you've ever experienced

[mmouse37]

Hurricane Jeanne back in 2004 (a Cat 3). We were in Clearwater on vacation before our Disney Cruise and were on I-4 just coming up to Lake Buena Vista when we heard on the radio that a hurricane was due to hit Port Canaveral. We had not heard news in a few days so were completely unaware of the storm. At about the same time we got a call from DCL telling us the cruise was not happening on Saturday and was being postponed until Monday and would leave from Fort Lauderdale instead. Well, we were not far from WDW so I told my husband to go there since our hotel in PC was being evacuated. We waited in a long line at one of the All Stars hotel and when we got to the desk the CM said they were all sold out. She checked the computer and they had one room left at the Poly so we said we would take it. Drove to the Poly and rode out the hurricane there.

We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Poly. We had the last room in the building facing the Ferry to the MK. We saw that the ferry was very empty so we decided to go to the park. It was great!! Park was empty but they were closing early due to the storm. It was so eerie feeling the wind pick up throughout the day. We then stocked up on snacks for the room and spent a cozy night listening to the storm. We had to take in the balcony furniture as per Disney and to keep the sliding door shut and locked., At times we thought the door was caving in the wind and rain were so bad. We were not allowed to leave the building at all. We never lost power and it was a good place to ride out a hurricane. Next morning the resort was a mess with trees down, chairs in the pool, vegetation covering the walkways, etc. By that evening you would never know a storm hit. On that Monday Disney bused us down to Fort Lauderdale to meet the cruise but the bus broke down on the highway. Had to wait a few hours for a new bus. The whole weekend was quite the experience!

PSA:....buy travel insurance. We had it for that trip and thank goodness we did. I saved all our receipts for the hotel, extra rental car days, meals, etc. and we were fully reimbursed under the Trip Cancellation portion of our policy. Our 7 day cruise turned into a 5 day cruise and DCL compensated us for the lost days.

MJ

 

[AustinTink]

The snowpocalypse that shut down Texas in February of this year. Never seen anything like it.

 

[ronandannette]

Flooding is weather. I totally forgot about our major flooding in 1997. It sparked national attention for many reasons, not least of which was when then Prime Minister came here to ‘help’ sandbag after calling the election.

Pretty sure you probably still voted for him though, right?

 

[prairie_girl]

Pretty sure you probably still voted for him though, right?

No way!!! Chrétien was so bad. Funny story, growing up, I never knew who my mom voted for. It’s just not something that was discussed (my dads not a citizen, so, he couldn’t vote), BUT I knew that Liberals were the scum of the earth. This stems from when they cancelled a big helicopter project that my dads company had the contract for and they all lost their jobs. I voted Liberal the past two elections and I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to admit it in front of my parents lol

 

[VandVsmama]

Not weather, but geologic events.

Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. I was at home when it happened on the 2nd story of our home. Stood in the doorway of my sister's bedroom. The rocking & rolling was so strong that I got dizzy for a sec. That one was a doozy.

Then the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Thought my roommate was bumping into my bed. Nope, mega earthquake! Lost all power for about 24 hr. Learned at that time that having sufficient cash on hand is helpful in times of emergency like that. Lived in Santa Barbara at the time, was going to college.

 

[ronandannette]

No way!!! Chrétien was so bad. Funny story, growing up, I never knew who my mom voted for. It’s just not something that was discussed (my dads not a citizen, so, he couldn’t vote), BUT I knew that Liberals were the scum of the earth. This stems from when they cancelled a big helicopter project that my dads company had the contract for and they all lost their jobs. I voted Liberal the past two elections and I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to admit it in front of my parents lol

Well, if I'm willing to overlook it; maybe they would be too.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Sandy

 

[C&Jx2]

The “No Name” storm in 1993. We had to hole up in my father’s business because the flood water that “never crosses US19” certainly did, and quick. I remember watching people abandoning their cars and trying to walk, but eventually some gave up and were just standing on the top of their cars. Once we got home our basketball hoop was snapped in half .

https://www.tampabay.com/florida/2019/03/12/no-name-storm-wrought-havoc-on-florida-26-years-ago/

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I know I was alive for the big blizzard of 1978... however I do not remember it.

Other than that one of note, I definitely remember a big ice (and snow) storm in 2009.

 

[emily nicole]

Tennessee ice storm February 1994. We went without power for a week. I was 9. I remember my parents using a kerosene heater, not sure how safe that was to do indoors, but anyway.

Then there was the tornado that devastated the dorms of a university here in 2008. I was living in the apartment complex directly behind it that only received minor roof damage. It's crazy how tornados can obliterate one house and leave the one next door intact.

 

[Kittyblue]

Our weather is never too extreme here. I didn't realize how intense rain could be until I got caught in a midwestern rainstorm this summer! (which I'm sure was just a regular old rainstorm to the locals LOL)

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Tornado several years ago. We were in the basement for hours. We didn’t get a direct hit but a local high school was destroyed and several fatalities (not at the school.) The tornado hit near dismissal. The principal had to make a decision to let the busses go or keep the kids there. Thank God it was the right decision.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

When I was 2 or 3, we were sailing Lake Erie. A storm came up, and my parents put me down below. I remember the boat rocking waaaay more than normal, but that's about it. My mom says that at one point during the storm she counted 3 waterspouts surrounding us. We did make it to shore (barely).

Edited because I realized not everyone might know that a waterspout is what you call a tornado over water.

 

[JimMIA]

Hurricane Andrew in Miami, 1992. We were actually out of town when it hit on Monday, August 24th, but managed to get back on Wednesday.

Our department worked 12-on/12-off 7 days a week until mid December. 12 hours always turned into at least 14, usually more. When our Director ordered people to take one day per week off in mid-December, many resisted.

About 1/3 of our vehicle fleet was destroyed and 25% or so of our officers lost their homes. Most of our patrol officers went home and got chainsaws and carried them for months. They did too many rescues to count.

I think we fully returned to regular shifts in April 93.

Fun times.

 

[tvguy]

Tough to say:
1)Driving from Houston in the biggest downpour I have ever seen, had to pull off the road.
2) Driving from St. Louis across Illinois in a rented motor home. Seeing tornadoes as we left St. Louis. Get to our destination at the Indiana border and find out the town were are staying was hit by tornadoes at the same time, killed two people.

 

[Communicore1991]

I have a couple. November of 2018 I believe, the NJ/NYC area got hit by a freak snowstorm. None of the roads were treated, the politicians were at some conference so they weren't overseeing emergency operations, and the road was a mess! My normal commute home from work is about 40 minutes. That day it took me just about 4 hours to get home. I sat at lights for so long that snow was accumulating on my windshield and the defoggers couldn't melt it fast enough so I had to keep climbing out and wipe down the car.

The second event was just the other week with Hurricane Ida. The rain came so hard and so fast that the water got shin deep in the middle of our street... and I'm 6'4! Water was coming into our basement from so many different spots where it never had before, it was truly worrying for awhile.

 

[RamblingMad]

Chicago snow blizzards. The biggest problem with living in Chicago in the 80s was the snow. The second biggest problem was that everyone lived in small homes. My home was about 800 sqft.

 

[mom2rtk]

Ice storm in January 2002. We lost power for 4 days and had to move in with my in-laws with 8, 6 and one year old kids. Oh and my mil had tons of valuable breakables in reach of the toddler. Almost 20 years later I still remember wanting to kiss the traveling linemen when they showed up to restore power on our street.

 

[mom2rtk]

Chicago snow blizzards. The biggest problem with living in Chicago in the 80s was the snow. The second biggest problem was that everyone lived in small homes. My home was about 800 sqft.

I was in Chicago in the early 80s for college. That lake effect snow is something.

 

[dcassetta]

2004 the year of the 4 hurricanes when we were in Central Florida. Just as things would start to get better, another storm would come. We actually stayed at Pop Century for two weeks as Disney seems to never lose power.

Our house survived Irma in 2017, but we were not there having evacuated. There was was a boat in our yard that had come from more than 50 miles away.