The weather across Central Florida this Thanksgiving made it a holiday best spent indoors. But some people couldn’t escape what was happening outside as some strong storms blew through parts of the area.

For Erika Fountain’s family, a quiet Thanksgiving at their Daytona Beach home quickly turned into a loud, scary experience.

“We were in the living room and we were watching TV and just about to eat Thanksgiving dinner, and I start hearing lightning and thunder and rain, so I was like, 'What is that?' it’s just a storm that came out of nowhere,” said Fountain. “And then I heard a lot of banging and hitting, the doors were shaking.”

Outside, the winds toppled trees, damaged fences and even sucked insulation through siding at Fountain’s apartment complex.

Fountain worried her and her kids’ lives were in danger.

“I got scared and I told my kids to lay down and I just started praying to God that he’d keep us safe,” said Fountain.

At a nearby shopping center, winds blew siding off buildings, leaving chunks of it in the parking lot.

Photo: Jeff Allen, staff

In DeLand, winds blew out much of the fencing at Raintree Village’s front entrance. Chuck Wert’s roof was torn apart.

“We had the hurricane and nothing happened, then we had this little storm and the roof tears up,” said Wert.

But Wert didn’t let the damage stop him from carrying out his holiday plans.

“I ate dinner, going shopping now – I’ll fix the roof next week,” said Wert.

There were also reports of flooding in Ormond Beach – which got about five inches of rain.