Stranded at the gym

Good morning, friends!

How did you spend your Saturday morning?

I, quite literally, got stranded at the gym.
For 2.5 hours.
Then Hubby and I spent another hour and a half at a restaurant a block away. Our soaking wet shoes left puddles on the floor...

Why?
Flash flooding.

Image source

I've lived through hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, and earthquakes. Yet I've never seen anything like this: 10 12 13 inches of rain in Pensacola. The Weather Channel is reporting that this is the wettest June day since 1887 and the 10th 2nd wettest day on record. Ever.

Our flooded drive home.

Honestly, I had no intention of getting caught in a flood. (No workout is that important!) This storm caught everyone by surprise. We knew there were thunderstorms in the forecast, but those are no big deal for northwest Florida. I checked the weather report before we left this morning, but the first flood warning I saw was when the Emergency Broadcast System interrupted the French Open 20 minutes into my treadmill run.

Knowing we'd be stuck at the gym for awhile, I ran slower and longer than planned. I killed another 20 minutes on the rowing machine. Then rain started pelting the gym windows so hard it was a near whiteout. (It reminded me less of a rain storm than a blizzard I witnessed in the eastern Sierra Nevadas a few years ago...) I moved over to the free weights and caught up on some upper body work.

Still, the rain was coming down. And it was getting late. With little other choice, Hubby and I decided to grab a bite to eat at a place around the corner. We splashed ankle-deep through puddles where a parking lot used to be.

We waited for a good, long break in the precipitation to make the 10-mile drive back home. We were the lucky ones. We made it safely, but passed dozens of stalled cars and flood-closed roads on the way back. A hospital's first floor flooded, as did the local jail, and a homeless shelter. In fact, flooded residents who evacuated to one Red Cross shelter soon had to be moved to another location - as even the Red Cross shelter was flooded!

(For more photos...)

Had I known, I would have slept in!

What's the worst weather you've ever seen?
Have you ever been stranded by a storm? (I was once stuck in New England - my flight couldn't leave because of a blizzard, but at least I was at my parents' home when that happened!)