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#Trip To #HurricaneMatthew: A Reporter's Journey From North Carolina To Miami

Wilson Sayre
/
WLRN

When a storm looks like it's going to hit the region you cover as a reporter, it's probably a good idea to be there.

Slight problem:  I was still in North Carolina the day Hurricane Matthew was set to pummel South Florida. So I enlisted a friend's help to get to South Florida in time to cover the storm.

Step one was getting a flight to Orlando. I got a couple of strange looks when I showed up at the airport willing to travel to an area under a hurricane warning. 

After a somewhat hairy landing, (supposedly another plane had a near miss with a bird so we had to abort our landing, circle around and try again), I arrived at the Orlando International Airport. 

I was greeted by some pretty serious storm bands and a friend who drove up from Miami in my car to meet me. The rain passed pretty quickly as we moved south on the  Florida Turnpike.

Surprisingly, it seemed people were paying attention to the storm warnings and suggestions to stay off the roads and in a safe place. We were almost the only car driving south. 

We mentioned gasoline for the first time more than 150 miles away from our destination. I thought we would  be able to make it on a single tank...

I really want to see that selfie. Bonus #HurricanePoints to whoever finds it!

We saw several utility trucks heading towards the storm. They were pretty much our only company on the road.

This is where it started to get a bit scary. There were a few hydroplane moments when I was very happy we weren't driving near others. There are huge sections of the Florida Turnpike where rain water doesn't drain very well, so there would essentially be giant puddles even when it wasn't raining.

Serious rain has at least one upside, especially when the 'air re-circulation' button on my AC stopped working:

This gas thing started to become a real issue.

At this point of the journey there was lots of rain, an empty gas light and a seemingly endless number of closed gas stations. We stopped at one of the service plazas that dot the Turnpike to ask the policemen who were hunkered inside where we might be able to find gas. They had no idea.

Luckily, one of my colleagues sent us a map with gas stations that have generators. Of the three we passed, only one had gas, though all had electricity.

From that minor panic moment, it was pretty much smooth sailing... surprisingly.

If you ever need an inclement weather driver, Malik Benjamin is your man. I would be in a ditch on the side of the Turnpike instead of at home with my chickens had he not been the main wheel man. 

Moral of the story: Don't do what I just did... ever.

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