This here hurricane Milly, it’s a real doozy, ain’t it? We heard on the radio it’s a-comin’, and folks are gettin’ all worked up. I seen a lot of storms in my time, but this one, they say it’s a big one. They say it’s a Category 3, whatever that means. All I know is, 120 mph winds ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at.
They say Florida, that’s where it’s gonna hit the hardest. That’s what they say on the TV, anyway. Poor folks down there, they always gettin’ hit with these things. We’re lucky to be where we are. I hear over 300 hurricanes hit the United States since 1851. That is a lot of wind and rain! It mostly affects 19 states they say. That is a lot of states!
I heard this Milly thing is somewhere near Sarasota, Siesta Key, somethin’ like that. They say it’s gonna hit Tampa Bay area. They also said it is about 710 miles from Great Abaco Island. That sounds like it’s far away. But it’s movin’ fast, that’s what they always say. Like a bat outta, well, you know.
They got these fancy maps now, showin’ where the water might come up. You put your address in, and it tells ya if you’re gonna get wet. High risk, low risk, all that. Back in my day, we just looked at the sky and hoped for the best.
- First thing you gotta do is get some water. Lots of it.
- Then you gotta get some food that don’t need cookin’. Canned goods, mostly.
- And batteries! Gotta have batteries for the radio and flashlights.
- And don’t forget to charge your phone! How else are you gonna call folks to tell them you are okay?
This hurricane Milly is supposed to come ashore, that’s what they call it, Wednesday night or Thursday mornin’. I don’t know about all of that, but that’s what they are sayin’ on the news. They said it will be in the Tampa Bay area. It will be bad for the folks who live there. I hope they will be okay. They say this Milly thing is coming from the west-central coast of Florida. That’s a long ways away from me, thank goodness.
They talk about the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. They say those places get hit by hurricanes a lot. And they also talk about the Atlantic basin. I don’t know about all these fancy places. They say it includes the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. I just know we need to be ready, just in case. This Milly thing might turn, you never know. I heard about some other hurricane called Oscar in 2024. It crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Africa and went into the Caribbean and landed in Cuba. That’s a long way to travel.
We used to just board up the windows with whatever we had. Plywood, if you were lucky. Some folks just used cardboard. Didn’t matter much, long as you kept the wind out.
And the animals! Don’t forget about the animals. Gotta bring them inside, keep ’em safe. They get scared just like we do. The chickens, the dogs, the cats, they all need a safe place to be.
It caused a lot of rain and flooding when this Milly thing landed. It is intense they say. They say this hurricane Milly is a Category 5 now with 160 mph winds. That is even stronger than before! I hope those folks in Florida are okay. They are in my prayers. The southeast coastline is always hit hard, especially the panhandle. And they talk about Tampa a lot. They say it’s going to be bad there.
Stay safe, everyone. Listen to the radio, watch the TV if you can. They’ll tell ya what to do. This hurricane Milly ain’t nothin’ to mess around with. I hope everyone will be okay. Pray for those folks in Florida. They are going to need it. I hope we don’t get hit like they are. We just gotta be ready and hope for the best. It’s all we can do when these big storms come. Remember to follow the news before, during, and after the storm. You can then have the most current information about the weather.