Hurricane Milton (2024)

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      What It Was Like in Sarasota as Hurricane Milton Made Landfall

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      Crickets chirped. Frogs croaked. Mosquitoes feasted on people who ventured outside to marvel at the clear sky and eerie calm.In Sarasota, Fla., the roaring, 120-mile-per hour winds of Hurricane Milton abruptly subsided at about 8 p.m., as the storm’s center began to make landfall nearby. It was a jarring difference from the hours before and after, when the sounds we heard were like bowling pins crashing, or a jet engine accelerating for takeoff.Inside my hotel, windows moaned and shrieked in the wind. Ceiling vents rattled and vibrated.The hotel was packed mostly with people who had been ordered out of evacuation zones. They gathered in the lobby late into the night — it was the only spot with lights powered by a generator — and watched warily as water crept under sandbagged doors.Sharing stories of hurricanes past, and gathering to peer out the windows into the darkness, were the only things keeping them occupied, and distracted from worrying about the homes they had left behind.I grew up in New England and have covered blizzards and nor’easters for decades, as well as the recent epic flooding in Vermont. But I had never experienced a hurricane in Florida.One thing was the same: the persistent uncertainty, down to the last hours, about how bad it would be and where the worst impact would be felt. Nothing had prepared me, though, for the raw intensity of the experience — the long, anxious hours of listening in the dark to a raging wall of weather.The minutes I spent outside as the hurricane’s massive eye passed over were as unforgettable as the total eclipse I witnessed in northern Maine in April — an interval of sheer wonder at the mystery and power of the natural world, in which everything else, fear included, briefly falls away.By daybreak on Thursday, the howling winds had subsided, and people began to venture outside to see what the storm had left behind. The wind uprooted trees, stripped sections of metal-sided buildings, and tossed yachts onto the edge of Bayfront Drive along the waterfront.By 8 a.m., residents were emerging to breezy conditions and clearing skies to walk dogs and begin clearing limbs and branches. More

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      Hurricane Milton’s Storm Surge Threatens Dangerous Flooding in Florida

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      Storm surge along the western Florida coast began to pick up as daylight dwindled and Hurricane Milton came ashore with its heavy rains and damaging winds, bringing the threat of major flooding.Flood gauges showed rapidly rising water levels on the coast at Fort Myers and Naples Bay shortly after Milton’s center arrived on land near Sarasota. Forecasters warned of the life threatening surge, which was expected to reach up to 13 feet in some areas, like Boca Grande on the far edges of the western coast.The term storm surge describes the dramatic, higher-than-expected rise in water levels brought on by a storm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.“The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” forecasters had earlier warned.In Tampa Bay, officials issued a flash flood emergency, a rare alert used when flooding is expected to inflict catastrophic damage and pose a severe threat to human life.Storm surge has been a particular point of emphasis with this hurricane among officials as it’s been responsible for dozens of deaths in storms past. In 2022, for example, 41 deaths during Hurricane Ian were attributed to storm surge.Images on social media taken before Milton’s arrival showed signs of the deluge to come, with water beginning to lap over sidewalks and roadways. Some videos showed the light from buildings reflecting brightly off the water against the darkness of night as it rushed over streets and into buildings. More

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      Here’s Why Hurricane Milton Is Sucking Water Out of Tampa Bay

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      Even as some parts of Florida’s western coast were enduring a surge of seawater on Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton’s heavy winds were pushing water out of Tampa Bay.A flood gauge near Tampa showed the water levels fluctuating as Milton approached and then plummeting while the storm’s eye passed to the south — dropping three feet below the level expected on a normal day.The phenomenon, reminiscent of what occurred during Hurricanes Ian in 2022 and Irma in 2017, will probably last only a few hours — and could suddenly reverse, with damaging results.The outward flow is sometimes referred to as a reverse, or negative, storm surge. A storm surge occurs when high-speed winds push ocean water onshore, but in this case the winds are draining the bay instead of flooding it.A hurricane’s winds blow counterclockwise, and with Milton passing south of Tampa Bay, winds to the north of the storm are blowing in from the east, pushing water away from the shoreline.The unusual sight can draw curious onlookers, but officials say that it’s dangerous to wander out along shores with receding tides. The water will eventually return and could rise quickly in a matter of minutes. More

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      Riding Out the Storm Means Making New Friends in the Hotel Lobby

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      The humble hotel lobby has become a gathering place for some evacuees as Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida. It’s a spot where people can exchange information — such as which gas stations still have fuel or where to find a hot meal — and stay informed with storm updates. For some, it’s also a place to connect, with the shared uncertainty fostering moments of camaraderie.“We’re all in the same boat, and the boat is flooding,” said Chris Granson Sr., 74, who evacuated from a barrier island off the coast of Clearwater, Fla., to the Holiday Inn Express & Suites here in Wesley Chapel, about 30 minutes north of downtown Tampa.Across the lobby from Mr. Granson, four friends from a senior community in Oldsmar, Fla., discussed politics and planned their next meal while watching the weather updates on TV. (Another guest advised them that a nearby 7-Eleven was still open.)They said they were part of a larger group at the community known as the Hippo Club, named so because its members enjoy “wallowing” in the pool while chatting about everything under the sun. For these four, the hurricane has temporarily relocated their club — and possibly added a few honorary members.“We’ve met people from all up and down the coast,” said Gayle Richardson, 66.Nearby, four women split Champagne and chocolates while playing a card game, including Laurie Deer, 56, who left lollipops at the front desk for the other guests, and Rosemary O’Hara, 69.Two of the women’s husbands joined them. Tom O’Hara, 77, who was affectionately called Mr. Positive by the others, confidently predicted that the storm would shift south, sparing their homes.“We’re laughing and bonding, trying not to watch too much news,” said Ms. O’Hara. “We know something bad is happening out there, and we’ll face it when we return. But, for now, we’re focusing on what matters.” More

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      Hospitals and Nursing Homes in Milton’s Path Prepare for the Storm

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      Healthcare facilities across the west coast of Florida, from clinics to nursing homes, are temporarily shutting their doors and evacuating patients in preparation for Hurricane Milton’s potentially devastating landfall.Mandatory evacuation orders in Pinellas County, which includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg, affect about 6,600 patients at six hospitals, 25 nursing homes and 44 assisted living facilities, according to the order. Scores of medical clinics and dialysis centers across the region have also closed, including dozens of outpatient facilities operated by the BayCare, a health care network.The region’s only Level 1 trauma center, Tampa General Hospital, has deployed a temporary flood barricade that officials hope will stave off the storm surge. Most of the hospitals in the region that are still open have suspended elective operations or have stopped accepting new patients.University of Florida Health, which operates about a dozen hospitals across the state, had enough food, water and fuel to keep its facilities operating for 96 hours, according to Peyton Wesner, a spokesman.Mary Mayhew, president of the Florida Hospital Association, said many facilities have improved their emergency preparedness in recent years by creating backup water supplies, acquiring generators and purchasing satellite telephones in case cell service is disrupted. Most hospitals have moved key infrastructure to higher floors.But Ms. Mayhew said there was only so much to be done in the face of a storm as powerful as Milton. “In the last few years, hospitals in Florida have had to frequently deal with these types of emergencies, but there is undoubtedly a heightened sense of concern given the magnitude of this storm and where it is likely they hit,” she said.During Hurricane Ian in 2022, Lee Health, a hospital network south of Tampa, was forced to bring in 10 water tankers when municipal water service was disrupted, which prompted evacuations at two of its hospitals. Though no water entered the hospital itself, flooding damaged or destroyed 400 cars in the hospital’s parking lot.“With every storm, we learn things, and we certainly learned about the dangers of storm surge,” said Dr. Larry Antonucci, the system’s president, noting that hospital employees have been asked to consider being dropped off at the facilities by someone else, or using ride share services. “We’re confident we can get through this.”Officials at Tampa General, which is surrounded by water on three sides, are hoping its temporary flood wall will keep the storm surge at bay, just as it did during Helene two weeks ago.The fence, manufactured by a Norwegian company, can withstand up to 15 feet of water, officials said. In one small dose of relief, hospital workers did not have to reinstall the fence to prepare for Milton: They simply never took it down. More