Michiganders who moved to Florida prepare and evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton
(CBS DETROIT) - Michiganders like Lisa Haiss in Florida are preparing for the worst as Hurricane Milton continues its path to South Florida.
Haiss isn't in a flooding evacuation zone, but she's getting out anyway.
"We're really just most concerned about trees falling, being uprooted, and falling over," Haiss told CBS News Detroit.
She says those staring down the wind and not just the water are having to do things on their own.
"I think that there's not enough communication from the city or from the state. I think it's a little bit lacking. A vast majority of people are relying solely on meteorologists," Haiss said.
Compared to Michigan weather, it couldn't be more different.
"It's very different than when we have snowstorms coming. We're going to get, you know, three inches of rain, 16in of snow. It's a different thing. Here you have winds of 180 miles an hour. You can't hide from that," said Kathy Morris.
Morris and her husband, Lee, moved to Florida from Dearborn.
One main difference that they say helps is the lead time compared to Michigan storms.
"With hurricanes, you're warned. I mean, with Helene, we had a week's notice that something's going to happen," Lee Morris. "When we had a tornado or something, it was you don't have time to worry about it. It just came on you".
The National Weather Service is using that time to spread the word. Tampa has not seen a direct hit since 1921.
This could be the strongest storm experience for them in all our lifetimes.
"With what's the projected path of Hurricane Milton, the Florida utilities have put out a request for tens of thousands of linemen," said Brian Calka with DTE Energy.
DTE already has crews in the Carolinas and Georgia.
With Milton on the way, those crews won't be coming home but will be sent to the Florida coast.
"Right now, I think there's an appetite for all 600 of those resources to head down there," Calka said. "It might end up being a fraction of those, depending on where they're at. Keep in mind restoration for Hurricane Helene is not done. So that will continue through this week."