Leona Anglin didn't even hear the wind from Tropical Storm Fay Thursday night when she got up to answer a telephone call.
Still, something must have caused the old oak tree to come crashing through her roof onto the couch where she'd sat moments before.
"It had to happen to somebody," Anglin said, surveying the thousands of dollars in damage to her home on Northwest 12th Street. Luckily, insurance is paying for everything.
But destruction that severe was rare when Fay reversed direction in the Atlantic Ocean and passed directly over Gainesville early Friday.
The storm brought more than five inches of rain and gusts of wind up to 43 miles an hour, according to National Weather Service reports. Damage was mostly limited to downed power lines and streets littered with debris, including fallen trees that blocked parts of 13th Street and East University Avenue.
Crews from Gainesville Regional Utilities, Gainesville Public Works and Alachua County's Emergency Operations Center worked around the clock to clear roads and deal with power outages.
Two shelters opened Thursday and remained open throughout the storm. Schools, government buildings, UF and Santa Fe College closed Friday. UF's closing meant canceling the new-student program called "Navigating the Swamp" and rescheduling sorority recruitment.
"It definitely screwed up rush," UF freshman Nora Okonski said.
UF also suspended residence hall check-in from Tuesday night to Thursday morning to discourage travel in dangerous weather as Fay hit South Florida. By Tuesday, only 55 percent of residents had checked into the halls, compared with more than 70 percent the year before, said Sharon Blansett, assistant housing director.
Others tried to beat the storm to Gainesville.
"It forced me to move into my apartment earlier," said UF freshman Jeanna Lee, whose early arrival from Tampa on Monday meant her building's maintenance crews hadn't finished cleaning it.
Gainesville had a lot of time to prepare for the storm, which was originally predicted to hit Wednesday morning.
"This is a good primer, obviously, for the city," Gainesville spokesman Bob Wood said. "It's a good reminder not only to the city government but to the residents of the community to be prepared to take precautions."
Before the storm hit, city and county authorities urged residents to prepare evacuation plans and stock up on food and water. Fill-your-own sandbag stations were available starting Monday.
"They said maybe 10 inches of rain," UF senior Shakira Dinally said as she filled up bags Wednesday to protect her hardwood floors. "Eight inches flooded our family's house in Palm Bay."
Flooding has been minimal in Gainesville, but rain is expected to continue throughout the week.
This can make traveling around campus difficult, said sophomore Clifford Mason, who trekked from Fletcher Hall to the Reitz Union in the storm.
"It's just been kind of annoying more than anything," Mason said.
