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So that was something. Milton Update
a year ago
Well, here it is tomorrow, Milton has passed, and I don't have an expensive repair bill or insurance claim. So that's the TLDR.
I've rode out a few hurricanes now and this was a strange one. First, props to whoever plots at the NHC, they predicted the Florida part of this path almost exactly. I kept thinking (hoping) it would start turning a little early and miss me far enough. Nope. It kept zigzagging right towards me all night. Just as the path said, almost on the original timeline. Just a few hours early.
Got a ton of rain early on, before it even made landfall, then it was only a light drizzle all through the night. They had reverted back to the original timeline where it'd be overhead right about at sunrise, so after it made landfall I napped for a couple of hours.
When I got up the wind was howling, and when I checked the updates it had slipped closer by a couple of hours. So by about 4am. Big scary concentric circles of intensifying windfields are steadily progressing towards me. Nothing more to do by wait and see and chat with some friends while I'm looking at every weather blog I can find. Wind sounds stronger and stronger, just as expected, and then starts to die down. Milton is degrading, not fast enough, and sometimes the wind fields get weird. I've seen that happen before, but once you get to the center it does consistently get pretty strong. But, as the center steadily approaches it doesn't. It's picking up a little, but not like you'd expect, and nothing nearly like it was around 1am.
Eventually I'm bracing for what's left of the eyewall because it's coming. The wind shifts about 180 degrees like you'd expect but with almost no intensity change. It turns out the plotted center passed within five miles of my house around 0330. So I'm wondering "Ok, so where is the wind?" Not that I mind that it's not there, it's just really weird. It picks up a little on what I expect the backside to be, and I begin to think. I guess that's it. Must have deintensified even faster than they predicted. Oh well, lucky day!
I decide to wait until around 6am to do a full walk around check just to be sure it's gone. Not much disturbed except my mailbox was knocked off the post apparently because the screws must had been rusted through for a while now. Then I zone out for a bit since I had been up all night, and consider when to make this post. You know, because you don't want to jinx things.
Well. My gosh! Around 0630 I get pulled out of my semislumber by the sound of a freight train outside. It's like heavy winds. Heavier sounding winds than at 1am. That was just kind of like strong wind sound with howling. These were like heavy, intense gusts that feel like the house is leaning from them. Thirty seconds of that, then about twenty second pause, then back up again for almost a minute. I'm getting serious power flicking for the first time the whole night. Oh yeah, props to FPL too. Grid here was like a rock. So I didn't quite loose power but where were a bunch of 1 second dips, and my UPSs are randomly clicking for the next 30 minutes. So where the heck did all this come from?
Turns out there is a giant squall line two hours on the backside of the eye, and I guess that's where all the wind of the eyewall was kept. I think it legit did more damage in that 20 minutes than anything the entire night before. At 7am it finally dies down, and now there is nothing but overcast, so I think this weird thing is finally gone.
Milton did a ton of damage to the west coast. They've a tough month ahead to start fixing that. This one just reinforced to me not to underestimate these things. They'll surprise and getcha.
Oh, one quick edit and addendum. Yes, the frogs and toads were out there doing the nasty. I haven't looked for any eggs yet.
I've rode out a few hurricanes now and this was a strange one. First, props to whoever plots at the NHC, they predicted the Florida part of this path almost exactly. I kept thinking (hoping) it would start turning a little early and miss me far enough. Nope. It kept zigzagging right towards me all night. Just as the path said, almost on the original timeline. Just a few hours early.
Got a ton of rain early on, before it even made landfall, then it was only a light drizzle all through the night. They had reverted back to the original timeline where it'd be overhead right about at sunrise, so after it made landfall I napped for a couple of hours.
When I got up the wind was howling, and when I checked the updates it had slipped closer by a couple of hours. So by about 4am. Big scary concentric circles of intensifying windfields are steadily progressing towards me. Nothing more to do by wait and see and chat with some friends while I'm looking at every weather blog I can find. Wind sounds stronger and stronger, just as expected, and then starts to die down. Milton is degrading, not fast enough, and sometimes the wind fields get weird. I've seen that happen before, but once you get to the center it does consistently get pretty strong. But, as the center steadily approaches it doesn't. It's picking up a little, but not like you'd expect, and nothing nearly like it was around 1am.
Eventually I'm bracing for what's left of the eyewall because it's coming. The wind shifts about 180 degrees like you'd expect but with almost no intensity change. It turns out the plotted center passed within five miles of my house around 0330. So I'm wondering "Ok, so where is the wind?" Not that I mind that it's not there, it's just really weird. It picks up a little on what I expect the backside to be, and I begin to think. I guess that's it. Must have deintensified even faster than they predicted. Oh well, lucky day!
I decide to wait until around 6am to do a full walk around check just to be sure it's gone. Not much disturbed except my mailbox was knocked off the post apparently because the screws must had been rusted through for a while now. Then I zone out for a bit since I had been up all night, and consider when to make this post. You know, because you don't want to jinx things.
Well. My gosh! Around 0630 I get pulled out of my semislumber by the sound of a freight train outside. It's like heavy winds. Heavier sounding winds than at 1am. That was just kind of like strong wind sound with howling. These were like heavy, intense gusts that feel like the house is leaning from them. Thirty seconds of that, then about twenty second pause, then back up again for almost a minute. I'm getting serious power flicking for the first time the whole night. Oh yeah, props to FPL too. Grid here was like a rock. So I didn't quite loose power but where were a bunch of 1 second dips, and my UPSs are randomly clicking for the next 30 minutes. So where the heck did all this come from?
Turns out there is a giant squall line two hours on the backside of the eye, and I guess that's where all the wind of the eyewall was kept. I think it legit did more damage in that 20 minutes than anything the entire night before. At 7am it finally dies down, and now there is nothing but overcast, so I think this weird thing is finally gone.
Milton did a ton of damage to the west coast. They've a tough month ahead to start fixing that. This one just reinforced to me not to underestimate these things. They'll surprise and getcha.
Oh, one quick edit and addendum. Yes, the frogs and toads were out there doing the nasty. I haven't looked for any eggs yet.
All the strongest wind being at the end is very odd, though, yes. Still, I'm happy it hasn't ruined you / your house or anything. <3