Hurricane Irma weakened to a tropical storm Monday as it continues to move through Florida with intensity. Some Floridians are dealing with its direct aftermath, while others are still gearing for its impact.
But over the weekend, and into the week, Floridians also proved they've been able to maintain their unique sense of humor, even in the most serious of circumstances.
"Irma Gerd" -- someone in Port St. Lucie gets it #HurrcaneIrma
Hilarious messages were spray-painted on boarded-up houses across southern Florida. Like this "Thanks, ObIRMA" one from 36-year-old Oldsmar, Florida, resident Bobby Quinn.
Quinn, who had to evacuate with his family as they were in a flood zone, told BuzzFeed News he couldn't resist having some fun with the plywood. (He and his family are safe.)
Heroism was everywhere to be seen. This guy did his part to keep water levels at bay.
My dawg out here saving lives #HurrcaneIrma #Irma2017 #surviving #
BuzzFeed News has reached out to this hero.
This dad literally began "beating Irma away."
My cousin sent us a video her dad beating Irma away #HurrcaneIrma #HispanicsBeLike
BuzzFeed News is trying to reach this father for comment, and to say thank you for his services.
And this dad volunteered to "direct" the traffic of the massive storm.
Directing Hurricane Irma like
"Michael Smith, my dad, is the man behind the mask," 20-year-old Nicole Smith told BuzzFeed News.
“We made the video to make people laugh and lighten the mood on a not-so-great situation," she said.
This guy — à la Kendall Jenner — tried to hand Irma a Pepsi to relieve the tension.
Irma please accept this offering
"It was a knock at the Kendall Jenner pepsi commercial just to make light of the situation," Dylan Morse, 21, of Orlando told BuzzFeed News.
He said that a few trees in his neighborhood toppled over but he and his family are OK.
Folks turned themselves and their families into memes, having a laugh amid all the concerned social media messages coming from the rest of the country.
The news: if you're in a evacuation zone please leave Floridians:
18-year-old Lismary Calvo told BuzzFeed News that this photo is of her dad, Idgmar, with his dog, Jonny.
She said that the pic of them wearing life jackets "fit the Floridians' mentality of how to deal with this storm."
She wishes the best for her fellow Floridians. "Even though we are trying to be funny and get some laughs out of people to lighten up the mood, we know this is a very serious storm and we are hoping everyone is staying safe," the teen said.
"Irma gonna snatch me like:"
America: Pray for Florida Floridians:
BuzzFeed News reached out to the hilarious person behind this video.
One guy joked about a Pokémon Go alert he received during the actual hurricane.
Pokémon Go trying to murder people #HurrcaneIrma
And another guy brazenly parasailed during a live MSNBC report about dangerously high waves. And the Floridian who tweeted it out found it hilarious.
Floridians be like #hurricaneirma #irma
Others created their own reports from the field.
News: Florida is in Hurricane Irma's path as a category 5 My dad:
17-year-old Laura Acosta told BuzzFeed News that the above video was made "out of total boredom."
She said that the "reporter" in the video is Fausto Acosta, her father. A Wii controller and a piece of a box were used to create the field reporter look.
"It was a nice feeling knowing I'm not the only one in this situation, having their fathers make a joke out of this storm," Acosta said of Twitter's response.
17-year-old Brittany Fresquet said that this LIVE storm report was a family effort, featuring her mom (who played the part of foliage) and uncle (the reporter).
Reporting LIVE from Hialeah #HurrcaneIrma
"We decided to make the video to entertain family and friends while waiting the storm," Fresquet told BuzzFeed News.
She was happy to bring some happiness to the internet during Irma. "The response from Twitter made me feel glad I was able to bring cheerful attitude in spite of the storm," she said.
"Stay classy, Palm Harbor," another "report" concludes.
rick scott: everyone take this hurricane seriously, this is a major disaster and could be life threatening Floridia… https://t.co/QpE2QlTF7E
The star storm reporter in this broadcast, 17-year-old Maddy Skapik, told BuzzFeed News that her dad recruited her for the video.
"Honestly, I was in my room minding my own business and my dad came and got me and told me he needed me for something," she said. "He gave me the jacket and microphone and we wrote the script together."
The news crew was made up the teen's entire immediate family (note her mom in the background.)