Moray woman shares Hurricane Milton experience after dramatic Florida visit
When Keith resident Rhona Patterson made the journey to Florida earlier this month, she did so expecting sunshine and hot weather.
She often makes the lengthy trip to see her sister in Lakeland, a city located just a few miles east of Tampa.
But she was “oblivious” to the fact that Hurricane Milton was heading her way and was ready to tear its way across the state.
“I was told about the hurricane basically as soon as I landed in Florida,” Rhona said.
“I just thought that’s why the flight was so empty.
“I was so busy in the run up to my trip that I was oblivious to the fact that I was arriving before a major hurricane.
“I’ve visited my sister on many occasions but never have my visits coincided with a hurricane, never mind one the size of Milton that was approaching this time.”
The hurricane was expected to be one of the most powerful storms to form over the Atlantic this decade.
The National Hurricane Centre warned that it would bring winds of up to 145mph, flash flooding, torrential rain and storm surges across Florida.
Millions of residents raced to evacuate before it hit the state’s coastline.
But Rhona and her sister decided to follow the mandatory evacuation notices.
With there being no evacuation notices for Polk County, they decided to stay and “wait it out” doing everything they could to make their house as “hurricane proof” as possible.
“It was really hard for those back home watching the news and thinking that we were right in the path of a possible category 5 hurricane,” Rhona said.
“Everyone was asking if I was going to evacuate but the roads out of Florida were gridlocked and fuel was at a premium for those that were on mandatory evacuation and we thought it would be daft to add to that chaos.”
The “scariest” experience for Rhona, however, was the threat of tornadoes which were expected to hit in the build up to Milton itself.
She said: “We had already discussed our plan and when the alarm went off, we quickly set it in motion, closing all the blinds and curtains, throwing cushions and blankets into the small area in the hall we had designated as our safe space, and turning round the unit in the hall to close off this space.
“We all then hunkered down with the dogs and waited and prayed.
“We were lucky and the tornado didn't actually hit us.”
The rain started on October 9 in the morning and didn’t stop until the early hours of October 10 alongside intensifying wind.
After losing power at around 11pm, Rhona and her sister decided not to go to bed until the storm had “done its worst”.
Having listened nervously to the wind and rain batter their windows for over fours hours, they finally got to bed just after 3am.
Rhona added: “When I got up in the daylight and looked outside, I couldn't believe the amount of water.
“The road in the front of the house was no more. It was a raging river and the water mark in the drive made it clear the water had been right up and through the whole property.
“To the rear of the property there is a pond which is normally 500 yards away, but not now, the water was lapping the back fence.”
The property’s power was restored after around 14 hours but the damage in the area was clear to see.
“We were extremely lucky because no water had actually breached the house,” Rhona said.
“Other people were not so lucky, with many houses in the community flooded and suffering many thousands of dollars worth of damage.
“I am sure I will see much worse as I travel around in the coming weeks.”
Rhona will remain in Florida until November 16 and is thankful to put the storm behind her.
She added: “I hope to get some of the sun that I came for and no more hurricanes.”
