Hurricane Milton is barreling its way toward the Gulf Coast of Florida with Tampa in its sights. There are countless connections between the Florida community and Connecticut and some here are waiting out the storm in the northeast while others are still in the crosshairs of Milton.
“We said no, we seen the hurricane out there stirring up, (category) 4 - 5,” Daniel Tate said, thinking back to the decision to stay in the northeast when they saw Milton’s growth.
He and his wife were already up in the northeast when reports started coming out of its path and power. His neighbors taking care of his home back home in cape coral Florida.
“He said, ‘You still got patio furniture in the back, you need me to do this?’ Tate said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
He still has family and friends including kids and grandkids in Florida, many of them evacuating when necessary or called for by Florida officials or preparing for impact in other parts that are not in the direct line.
It's a lesson he and his wife said they learned in 2022 when Hurricane Ian hit a similar area. He showed us pictures of the aftermath of Ian through his eyes. This time, he will be watching the storm through the eyes of others.
“You can check in, we have cameras on our home. I don’t know how long they are going to last through the storm,” Tate said.
Local
His wife, Dawn Marie Tate, said even just watching Milton approach Florida is difficult to process as they still wrestle with the emotions in the aftermath of Ian.
“I had to shut the news off a couple of times because I was sick,” she said.
Her message to anyone she could contact down there was simple.
“We said, 'You guys just need to get out. You have to get out because the last time we stayed and the floodwaters were up to our daughter's window,” she added.
Their home in Cape Coral is currently positioned in a Flood Zone A. Up the coast in Tampa it’s the same situation.
“I made the drive from Orlando to Tampa Sunday night and I4 heading out was bumper to bumper,” said Trevor Mann, a Connecticut native currently living in Tampa.
The only other storm he has had to evacuate for was Irma in 2017, not long after he moved there. This time around he went back and forth on evacuating, before ultimately deciding to seek higher ground about an hour northeast of where he lives.
“We are going to be about 80 feet above sea level whereas right now we are only about 10,” Mann said.
He said he has watched a steady flow of people evacuate the Tampa area. Many gas stations sold out and closed for the storm. He also noted that grocery stores are also closing starting Tuesday in anticipation of landfall.
He has also watched as officials have worked tirelessly to remove excess debris from Hurricane Helene a few weeks ago. Excess debris, he said, could just prove more of a problem in the impact and cleanup of Milton.
“It’s been eerie. I think a lot of people are taking this one seriously,” he said.
The Tate family hopes so.
They are anxiously awaiting the storm's passing so they can drive back down. They are hopeful the tightknit community stays strong.
“Like my wife said, 'Don’t worry about all the material things.' My hopes and prayers go out to people just being safe and making it through the storm,” Daniel Tate said.
