Carousel by Denis Phillips
Denis Phillips@denisphillipsabcweather 22 years ago today. Hard to believe it's been over 2 decades since Hurricane Charley hit. A last minute turn spared much of the Bay Area but wreaked havoc on Southwest Florida. It started a 6 week stretch where we had FOUR hurricanes hit Florida. It also was the 1st day I ditched my jacket for these silly suspenders. What are YOUR memories?
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@the_mer_king I drove to Georgia.
@suzannebenz The walk-in closet with the pets.
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@emersontracie Ended up in Sebastian Florida. 4 kids, 2 cats a dog and a bird! 😂it was stressful.
@thehardyvegan The most underrated Tampa wobble announcement in history by a Tampa weatherman.
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@d.amarodes We waited in Sarasota in a safe room and it hit port Charlotte and my family down there. Awful. Simply terrible.
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@gpartee We had just moved to Sarasota. That year was quite the crash course in hurricanes.
@mereflan My daughter’s first birthday! Our entire street in Westchase evacuated to Orlando and the party was cancelled. Joke was on them though when that turn happened 🤡
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@vondageorgiapeach I just remember those 4 major hurricanes causing havoc all over FL. Furniture hanging out sliding doors, windows, rugs piled about 3 floors high waiting to be picked up by Sanitation dept.
@abrahamson999 Working as a nurse in Bradenton and getting patients from the hurricane afflicted areas sent up to us
@rooftopgrandmafl That was a crazy year
@instagritte Standing in the middle of an empty Dale Mabry after everyone else evacuated to Orlando.
@stephurbanthorn I had just moved from Chicago to a home on the water in Punta Gorda 12 days prior to Hurricane Charley. We were told not to worry, hurricanes happen all the time in Florida. The morning of, our families and friends told us we need to leave. We evacuated to a friend’s home in Port Charlotte hours before it hit, and so glad we did 🙏. Still remember this day well, all these years later.
@recalibrated.for.joy It was my first year in Florida and I was only 3 weeks into living here in the bay!
@fullmoon_pizzaparty A mustached meteorologist on another station jumping up and down shouting "I TOLD YOU!" when it turned
@dylanmadigan_music I lived in Palm harbor and we prepared for it to hit us. Then it last minute turned and went towards my grandpa in Port Charlotte. He only had a couple hours notice really. He hid in the bath tub under a blanket while it passed. My dad lived down there too but was out of town. The next day we went down to help and it’s certainly the most devastating wreckage I’ve seen in my life. Trucks toppled over. Every single road sign was either ripped in half or twisted 180 degree. Mobile home neighborhoods were flat. Any two story homes I saw lost their second floor. Behind my grandpas house was a great video rental place called “super video” and the roof tore off of the building and was all over my grandpas back yard. I don’t think super Video ever recovered after that. I had to imagine the VHS tapes were ruined by water damage. Grandpa had a few holes in his roof. Every window was just gone. Huge oak tree in the front was toppled over onto the driveway and the roots ripped up the entire yard. The attic filled with water and dispersed water damage everywhere. But my grandpa was okay. He actually passed about 2 years ago. The house seemed back to normal by the next time I saw it. But Idk how long repairs took. My dad’s house was in a neighborhood with a lot of tall trees surrounding and I think that blocked the wind. His house was fine.