Hurricane Beryl becomes unwelcome guest to couple's anniversary celebration in storm's path
Hurricane Beryl caught many visiting Grenada by surprise, including people who plan vacations for a living, like the Cochrans. Victor and Terri Cochran posted updates on the storm, helping keep people in the U.S. informed.
Mississippi family forced to ride out Hurricane Beryl in high rise resort
Victor Cochran and his family were trapped in a high rise resort in Grenada while Hurricane Beryl pounded the island. He talks about having trouble getting a flight back home to Mississippi and shares his terrifying video.
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada – Mississippi residents Victor and Terri Cochran know about the dangers of hurricanes, but they never expected to ride out a category 4 storm while hundreds of miles from home when Hurricane Beryl became the third wheel on their anniversary trip.
The couple, owners of the travel agency Family Fun Travels, thought vacationing in the Caribbean early in hurricane season would be safe.
"The reason we booked Grenada was to be below the latitude of where the hurricanes normally come this time of year," Victor Cochran told FOX Weather. "We're very hurricane aware, and we try to plan our trips around that. And we've had this plan for some time, but we did not expect this."
TRACKING BERYL: SEE THE HURRICANE'S LIVE FORECAST
During other hurricane seasons, the Cochrans' assumption would be right, but Hurricane Beryl made history over the weekend, becoming the strongest hurricane on record for June. Beryl also formed farther east than any other June hurricane since record-keeping began. On Tuesday, the storm made history again, becoming the earliest Category 5 storm on record hours after pummeling the Windward Islands.
The Grenada airport closed on Sunday night ahead of Beryl's biggest impacts. While they waited and rode out the storm, Terri and Victor posted updates to social media on the conditions and shared views from their balcony.
Terri's Facebook album, "24th anniversary-Sandals Grenada(Hurricane Beryl)," included beautiful island views, champagne glasses and beach umbrellas before it became clear the storm was headed for their vacation destination.
Couple documents Hurricane Beryl during Grenada anniversary trip
Video from Terri Brown Cochran shows the scene from their resort in St. George's Grenada as Hurricane Beryl brushed by the island with Category 4 strength.
Beginning Friday, Terri started posting updates on Facebook documenting their struggles trying to leave the island while Victor posted to TikTok. When they couldn't leave, they shared the weather conditions as the winds started picking up. Their social media posts are getting thousands of views, even from other resort guests.
A neighboring room sent them some flowers and a thank-you note for their updates, helping to keep other families informed.
Despite the major hurricane, Terri said the Sandals Resort staff still made sure they were well-fed and cared for.
Views of Hurricane Beryl's wind and rains from Victor and Terri Cochran's resort balcony in Grenada.
(Terri Cochran/Family Fun Travels)
Beryl made landfall in Carriacou on Monday, with 150 mph winds, blowing off roofs and uprooting trees and sending feet of storm surge onto Grenada.
Victor said facing the south side of the island helped protect their resort from some of the impacts. Some of the greatest damage has been reported on the north side of the island.
"After it passed us is when the winds really picked up. And that was the weak side. We got the lesser effect of it for sure," Victor Cochran said.
Beryl continues its destructive path through the Caribbean this week before it's expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico later this week.