For all its Hoopla, Hurricane Milton did not prove nearly as destructive as we were all told it would be. The hype over this storm was so egregious; the warnings so dire, one would have thought Florida would be erased from the map. Didn't happen.
Yes, the storm came in with pretty ferocious 100+ MPH winds. Yes, it spawned at least thirty-six (36) tornados which was not only stunning to see, but which did considerable damage. In fact, while some hurricanes are remembered for their wind, others for their flooding, "Milton" will likely be remembered for tornados.
There was very significant "storm surge" and there has been - and is right now - flooding in many areas. But that 10-15 foot "wall of water" just doesn't appear to have materialized. If it did, I haven't seen imagery of it.
So as things stand right now:
About three-million people are without electricity in Florida.
There are reports of fatalities, but the numbers are not in yet.
The flood waters are receding.
There is a very real danger of alligators in the flood waters, so folks need to watch carefully where they go.
Head home. Clean-up. Get on with life.
For me, the big takeaway from this, the "lesson learned" is Tampa Stadium. It had a cloth roof. Someone thought it would be a great place for National Guard troops to hunker down during the storm, to be available immediately afterwards. Not such a good idea.
The cloth roof . . . . . . . . . . . tore off during the storm.
The cots and supplies, blown all over the stadium.
Not such a bright idea, that roof. Downright dumb to even think it could be used as a shelter.
Gotta hand it to whichever government public servant thought "Gee, let's use a stadium with a cloth roof as a storm shelter." Not too bright, many of those government folks.
