Hurricane Idalia formed on August 26, 2023, and quickly became a concern for many in Florida. Every hurricane has some level of uncertainty. Some choose to play it safe while others may do less in terms of preparations. Often, schools will close in preparation for, and during a storm. Idalia was no exception. As Idalia moved closer to Florida, weather predictions on the storm became more refined and accurate. As they did, it became clear that the storm would not be too rough for those of Sunlake’s local community to ride out, with many choosing to take it easy and spend the days off as leisure time. One such student, Gavin Harrell, shared what he did during Idalia. When asked if his family planned for the incoming storm, Gavin said “Not really, we mostly just moved some stuff out of the backyard.” For the most part, it seems that many Sunlake families did about the same. Gavin further explained that, “From what I saw from the storm patterns, it wasn’t going to hit too hard inland.” Students were given a few days off during the hurricane and Gavin explained what he did on his second day off; “I got to play video games for most of the day, so I was happy. It was really just a leisure day.” Gavin also said “I slept through it – I slept through the entire hurricane… I’m a heavy sleeper.” While Hurricane Idalia didn’t cause particularly heavy damage in the area surrounding Sunlake, it did cause damage further up in Northern Florida. It’s important that students and their families keep an eye out for storms such as Idalia as Florida can have quite the unpredictable weather patterns!
