News now says (I am paraphrasing because I was typing as they talked) Milton is due west of southwest Florida and they (news) expect it to take slow easterly turn. It might be in Sarasota as landfall around midnight tonight. They are watching it closely, as Milton is now a category 4. The over night hours are when we are going to get everything. Storm surge tonight into the morning, including the actual hurricane and all storm related winds and rain. By tomorrow afternoon, it should be cleared enough to start assessing some of the challenges, but they're not going to give any okay until it's 100% safe to do so.
Outside of that, we got about half a dozen active tornado alerts. We ran into the lower level bathroom.
Guess what we learned - the houses here (both condos and houses) are made of concrete on the first floor and wood and timber on the second floors. So my condo is concrete and cement, while my upstairs neighbor is wood and timber. Which means the house we are in is in the same situation.
Shit.
But yeah, we've had about half a dozen tornado alerts and my mother and I were in the lower level bathroom for about 30 minutes. Nature got angry as hell for a little bit and we just had to mind our business and not do our business while in the room.
Once out and back on the couch, people checked in. One friend's nephew has decided he wants to leave today to Miami. A tornado hit his complex and he is about 6 minutes away from my complex, on a good day. Luckily, we didn't get hit, but the news is showing how bad it is. People are taking photos and pictures. One of the news people said he got a confirmed touch down in his complex and when it was safe to get back into work (they've been working around the clock for over 24 hours now, primarily in tag teams), it was like a war zone trying to get across town.
Yet the storm really isn't here yet. There's something like 10 hours left on the clock before Milton sets his bags down on our doorsteps.
This is so nerve wracking.
National Hurricane Center says "now is the time to stay inside, where you are, and away from windows". It's 2:25.
"We're getting a bit of a breather right now, but don't take it lightly" News just said.
As long as we still have power and a TV, the nerves are a little settled. Not by much, but not truly scared. It will change in 6 hours or so. We will get dark quick and it will get loud. It's more scary over night because you already can't see things during the day arrive, but at night, you're feeling more trapped. Especially since it's that water that will come and attempt to knock on doors.
"It's game time" says the news, "so we will get hourly updates". Milton has arrived closer. It's north, northeast at 16 miles an hour. Which has changed in the 20 minutes I have been writing?? What? I'm so confused. But he still is saying it's going to be a Sarasota touchdown.
At the 2pm update, "they're still expecting 8-12 feet of storm surge in Charlotte and Lee County". "Hurricane Hunters are finding this is a very strong hurricane".
The build up of these storms.. the waiting for it to arrive and do it's thing, then go away and we have a cleanup. That's the thing that really messes with you. It's the fear of the unknown. Like I've said prior, you can see snow start and stop. You know what to expect. Hurricanes are a different beast because it's like a ghost moving though. Makes a lot of noise and brings a lot of ectoplasm in the way of water and wind.
"When you are in the front right quadrant, you're going to get a lot more tornados. And monster tornados at that. We are in that area - the front right quadrant with Milton", the news says at 2:40.
People are supplying pictures and the area I work in, is a mess. The commute I have, is now a mess because of the tornados. Just like the rest of the city and county, and our neighbor counties.
More rain is going to come in by 3:51. But they will be quick moving rain storms. In two hours, rain band will come a little east of is. Not touch us a lot. Spotty rain for my area.
2pm advisory says it's still a powerful category 4 storm. The eye has filled in, which is a sign of a weakening storm. They'll know more within the next ten minutes for the next hourly update (it's 2:53).
Power is out for double digit thousands of people right now because of the storms that rolled through earlier. Just as much are trapped right now because they stayed. The damage is already big.
News says
"Loads of people have seen the worst of the wind damage, but it might not be the worst either"
(3pm) "water levels are already rising in Collier County. Winds are turning on shore. Collier County is going to see the surge first. "
"Naples Bay is already getting water levels to the top of the docks. Water from the Gulf is already approaching".
There are places where the roads are already flooding (Cape Coral). Just from the rain and not the tornados.
3:21 news says it doesn't have an eye anymore which is a good sign because it means it is weakening. Also, it will hit between midnight and 2am. Then continue to go east and by tomorrow it will be a category 1. It will hit as a 3, maybe.
I keep getting squirreled. I think I'll end it here.
Stay safe.
Cheers.
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Thanks for sharing!