If you think Orlando is just the sunshine state, BELIEVE ME you have another thing coming. Before last year I had only ever been to Orlando during October and Christmas time. Don't get me wrong when it would rain, IT POURED! But we still got a lot of sun in and there was never storms at that time of year. But I was totally unaware that summer is Hurricane season!
The first time it stormed while I was out there I had no idea what to do. It was my first proper week of work as a lifeguard and all of a sudden hailstones are hitting us, and I don't mean british hailstones where there really small and light. No these we huge! Okay they weren't quite as big as they are in this photo I found online but that's still how big they can get in Florida! I've never experienced weather so severe where it was dangerous to go outside. I mean I live in the UK everything is just mild, mild sunshine, mild rain, it's never one end of the scale or the other, we're always in the middle.
So I eventually got the hang of storms while at work, if there was a lighting storm within 10 miles we were in a code silver which meant getting people out of the pool but they could stay on deck. If it was within 5 miles it was a code white which meant get everyone off the deck. Sometimes we would get radioed saying we were in a code white and nothing would happen and the storm would shift which tended to frustrate the guests A LOT! But most of the time we would have about 3 minutes from getting radioed before lightning was hitting the hotel. We would have to clear the pool, clear all towels, check the hot tubs, the cabanas, the pool at the other side of the hotel, lock up all before we were toasted. We were in a code roughly 4 times a week, sometimes you would arrive for your shift and get sent home because the storm wouldn't let up.
Don't get me wrong working when there was a storm was pretty great. We got to go into the games room, play ping pong, play the playstation, watch movies, and practice CPR. However when it was your day off and you were at a theme park it can be frustrating... wait no not frustrating, SCARY! I don't scare easily, i'm not scared of bugs, i'm not scared of snakes but when the lighting would hit the ground right in front of me or if it was extremely loud, I would be shaking. I wouldn't want to be outside, I didn't feel safe in a car, even if I sat at my window just watching the rain a lightning bolt would hit the tree at my window and I would yelp!
It's rather confuses us Brits though as when it rains in the UK it's normally cold, the rain the Orlando is literally hot. You can be in a bikini whilst standing in a storm (although please don't). One of the amazing things about the extreme weather is it really is a beautiful sky after a storm. Here's a few shots I got when I was out with the girls.
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