Watch out for Leslie - she could be a killer....

It is not the rain fall that kills in a flat lying state but the storm surge along the coast and the idiots who think they can survive it...

Really. You are quite the expert.

Eh what now? My comment was based on general lack of hurricanes in ND and Minnesota. Not sure why you think everything is to do with politics? (Hint; it isn’t.)

So a brit would rather have 10 feet of snow and sub zero temperatures for 5-6 months or more a year than a little rain now and again?
I do not think so...

I personally love Florida. I’ve never lived there, but I have friends & relatives there and visit fairly often (and have since the 1970s.) But I do live in northern New York, with snow and sub zero temperatures for five or six months. I’m sure there are plenty of British people in every part of the United States. Very odd, that you seem to want to make an argument out of everything..? Not enough going on for you, in real life?

Upstate SC checking in.
Didn't have power for a week, worse still we had zero internet or phone service for a while and still no cable which means I'm hotspotting off my phone.
Been off work all week as most of my work involves travelling to bits of North Carolina where there are roads and bridges missing. Our little town got flattened, locals reckon 6 tornadoes came through at the height of the storm and we were just off the eyewall just before it was downgraded to a tropical storm. The local college right behind us lost 52 mature oaks, it was a mess!
We had an 80' laurel oak split down the middle, half of it remained standing (but will need taking down) and the other half parked much of it's bulk on my garage roof. I've spent all week in the yard clearing up and getting the blasted thing off the roof. The house will need attention to the guttering and I'll be reacquainting myself with roofing work replacing the sheathing and shingles on the garage. Also lost a smallish black walnut and a couple of other non-descript trees.
Hot tub cover took a javelin sized piece and at some stage I'm going to have to go through the palaver of cleaning it out again and replacing the cover. Lost the contents of the fridge and freezers, which is probably the biggest single expense, throwing out 40lbs of grass fed beef was not on my bingo card.

EDIT: Suppose I should clarify that by 'flattened' I meant multiple mature oaks and power lines down, houses weren't quite so badly hit I think about 6 properties in our little community of about 50 had trees parked on roofs with varying degrees of damage. My Floridian native wife says it's the worst she's seen, although we'll have to see what Milton does to my step kids who are both near the coast and the projected landfall area...

Glad you are ok but sorry to hear about the damage and mess you have to deal with.
Power loss and still having the heat and humidity is not a good combination along with all the food loss.

I hope your stepkids will be ok with this next storm.
Would you have been hit more if you had stayed in Florida than where you are now in SC?

In this instance probably not, although there were big oaks in that yard too and they weren't averse to shedding large limbs so it's hard to tell. Step daughter lives about a mile from our old place and only had a blip with the electric. We are used to tornado warnings here but because there is so much forest around here it's not often you hear about property damage although it is easy to spot where they crossed a road. Hurricanes cover a much greater area and with the coastal development in Florida there is almost zero chance of one making landfall and not trashing a beach town but because they tend to die out before they get too far inland it's not something we are particularly bothered about up here.
The lack of electric was a pain but not unbearable, it was cooler for the following week, daytime temps in the low 80's aren't too grim when the humidity is low and the evenings were in the mid 60's which would have been comfy if the attic hadn't been cooking the house all day.

Milton is headed toward Tampa - orlando.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-p...041251396.html

Don't worry, that was obvious to anyone who doesn't find politics in everything they see.

Why the sarcasm? Its a perfectly reasonable statement. It was one of our biggest problems with Queensland cyclones, persuading those on the flat coastal strips tat they should leave before being hit by storm surges several metres high.

One of the most iconic photos I saw after Tropical Cyclone Yasi (2011) was a beach community in the far north. There was a row of houses along the beach road. The storm surge went over and through the houses, collected all the contents on it way, and then dumped the same about half a mile further inland, where a forest slowed its progress. The photo showed the houses still standing, with a mountain of household and garden stuff beyond. Some of the residents there had been evacuated at the very last minute, still saying they would have been fine to stay...........Shows that even in a cyclone-prone area, people need reminding of nature's power.

I hear what your saying and have seen many houses destroyed in Galveston and Freeport that were our closest coastal towns. But having lived through numerous storms fom 1989 through 2022 in the flatest part of Texas the biggest threat was flooding from the constant rain that can go on for days and days after the storm is moving on and the wind damage.

There are stupid people everywhere and a lot of deaths are from stupidity. People try to drive through areas that are flooding, people won't leave when they are told to but in many cases they have no where to go and have no help. We always stayed because we were part of our areas responders for after the storm. Luckily we had friends in a safer area than our home to stay with but it is a heart sinking moment to have to run from everything you have worked for not knowing what you will come back to. Yes it's stupid to stay but you have to live it to understand <<<<SNIP>>>>

Glad to hear you're safe, along with your house even though damaged. Sorry about the food and tree loss.

Our damage is minimal.
Just heard from one of our contract managers in the Asheville area, he’s a mess. Moved his family to Charlotte, his mother in law and brother in law both had their homes wash away. He got together with a few people he knew and went round nearby properties with bulldozers, etc trying to help out. His head’s messed up with what he’s seen, kids running round naked looking for their parents, bodies strewn about, said it’s like a war zone up there.
Keep them in mind up there because when Milton blows in it’ll suck away the media attention and people up there will be mostly forgotten about.