Hurricane Milton approaches land

                        Milton approaches landfall

         It is Wednesday, the ninth of October in the year of our Lord, 2024. As dawn rose over the eastern sky, the winds had just started to pick up. It had rained most of the night, but it was now dry and warm outside.

         Milton had dropped to a category four hurricane, as it spun malevolently out in the Gul of Mexico. “Wind shear,” in the upper atmosphere, was interrupting its top-like spin and reducing the storm’s power. The predictions for its landfall still place it at  early morning on Thursday, 10/24. Its target area had dropped a few miles south of Tampa, to the coastal area around Sarasota and Venice. The predicted wave surge is still elevated along the entire coast of Southwest Florida.

       The peopled evacuation surges had calmed markedly since yesterday. Most people, who were leaving, had reached their destination or settled into a public shelter. Hotel room reservations were non-existent everywhere. Gas supplies were scarce and most stores were closed and shuttered. Everyone was hunkering down to face the storm.

        The weather forecasters were still beating the drums for disaster. I think most of their viewers had gotten the message already,  but the T.V. stations still had hours of air time to fill. I suppose the real horror stories  of destruction won’t surface until after Milton makes landfall.

       We finished clearing our lanai and slid the huge glass door shut. The 100 mph winds might punch through our first line of polyurethane screens, but they would not get through the huge glass slider unless a tornado was driving them. Unfortunately, three of those tornadic rascals had touched down, just east of us near Clewiston, in the interior of the state. These are the suckers that do the real damage. Our entire area was under a “Tornado warning” alert.

We had our “go bag” packed and were ready for whatever Milton was going to deliver. Breakfast in was pleasant enough. We knew not when the power would go out on us and we would be eating crackers and peanut butter. Fortunately for us, much of our condo complex of Spring Run is on the same area electrical circuits as a nearby Lee County Emergency room and hospital complex. We would hopefully be first in line to be hooked back up if and when the area lost electrical power. The lights were even now flickering signaling a potential outage to come. This might be my last missive until after Milton arrives.

       Still, like everyone else in Florida, there was a certain amount of anxiety involved. In Hurricanes, earth quakes and floods, you never knew what you were going to have to deal with until the calamity hit you. Hubris in the face of disaster might sounds good, but it was like whistling in the dark while walking through a dark and threatening environment. It served but to keep your confidence up until you walk into the light and safety.

Substantial winds kicked up around ten A.M Wind-driven rain peppered our windows. The monster Milton was just off shore and making its northward turn along the coast. All of the predictions were reiterated over and over again until you wanted to scream. Still, if the televised ruckus saved some lives, all well and good. We were already rating the performers. There was the “rotation guy,” and a whole host of reporters explaining potential impacts of the storm all across Florida. Our lightning detector on the golf course kept blaring it’s “whoop-whoop” warning, telling us that lighting was striking nearby.

The skies were dark and rain laden. The rains had started in earnest and were splashing off the streets all around us. The trees were doing that tossing and turning “wooden ballet” caused by the powerful winds. It seemed a bit gloomy out there. Several of the communities had imposed driving bans except for emergency personnel. Everyone else was supposed to hunker down and wait for Milton to arrive.

Let’s see what Master Milton has in store for us tonight.

                                             -30-

                                            (639 words)

                                      Joseph Xavier Martin