Here’s some perspective on Hurricane Milton: When we went to bed last Tuesday, it was a powerful Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico, less than 24 hours from its landfall.
That same storm, while weakening, rolled through Osceola County just after midnight early Thursday morning. By in large, the county was “Business as usual on Friday.” Some events were canceled for the weekend—including this weekend’s Country Thunder Florida music festival.
The county dodged the bullet of the strongest impacts of rain, wind and storm surge felt in Pinellas County and on the Gulf Coast, where about 187,000 residents remained without power as of press time Tuesday.
“Overall the county fared very well,” said Osceola Emergency Management Director Bill Litton, noting he was expecting “significant effects” earlier in the week. “The heaviest rain was in the I-4 corridor, that alleviated concerns of flooding. “We worked with the state to have resources staged for a response. From there it was a great partnership and a team effort, with our partners and the residents.”
The worst of the weather rolled through between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., with rains of 3 to 7 inches across the area, and winds gusted to high-end tropical storm strength, with a high gust of 76 mph at the Kissimmee Airport. The wind blew at 50-60 mph for three to four hours, with the biggest impact were power losses that, for a majority of customers, were resolved by Thursday night. The power loss darkened some traffic lights into the afternoon, and the wind damaged some elevated billboards, downed tree limbs, a few bigger ones that came down on power lines knocking out more electricity, and caused some minor mobile home damage.
There was flooding at the I-4 interchanges with U.S. Highway 192 and Osceola Parkway that closed those off ramps briefly. And an EF1 tornado rolled northward over the eastern part of the county, east of Kenansville and Holopaw into Orange County.
For those who are repairing structure damage with repairs requiring a permit, all building permit fees associated with damage from Hurricane Milton will be waived until further notice. The cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud will waive permit fees for roof and fence replacements and other related damage due to Milton. Residents can go online to apply for permits, and the city is committed to processing them quickly.
Making a claim? Need a blue roof?
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) urges policyholders to contact their insurer as soon as they can safely do so after the storm to file a claim if their property is damaged. If you are evacuated, you do not need to wait until you can return home before starting your claim. You can contact your insurer while evacuated to begin the claims process.
Tuesday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE has opened Operation Blue Roof through Nov. 5. Osceola is included in the impacted area. This program is a free service for homeowners and permanently occupied rental properties, providing fiber-reinforced, industrial-strength sheeting to protect storm-damaged roofs until homeowners can make permanent repairs.
Sign up for this fee service by visiting blueroof.gov or calling 888-ROOF-BLU.
Why Milton? (Seriously, why?) If the storm name ‘Milton’ doesn’t sound familiar, it’s because it hadn’t been used before—and likely won’t ever again. The National Hurricane Center has six naming lists it revolves, and retires names with storms that are particularly bad (like Charley, Irma, Ian). The 2024 list was last used in 2018, when the ‘M’ had to be retired. Hurricane Michael crashed into the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 storm and forever changed places like Mexico Beach and Tyndall Air Force Base.
So what should the new ‘M” name be in 2030 after Milton is likely retired? Marco and Martin are on other lists, Mario, Marty and Max are on the Pacific lists, and Michael, Matthew (2016) and Mitch (1998) have been retired.
So … Mateo? Miles? Micah? Mason? Marshall? Or, something that accurately depicts a thing of power like … Maverick?
Jose, meet Milton
The quickly-lowering pressures of an approaching hurricane can affect pregnant women and their expected babies. One local arrival made an early delivery just a few hours ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida. Mom Selena had been experiencing high blood pressure, possibly exacerbated by stress from the approaching storm. Her doctors recommended an early delivery, and parents Selena and Jose welcomed Jose III at UCF Lake Nona Hospital at 8:02 a.m. Wednesday. Mom and dad, who live in Poinciana, were able to bond with 7-pound, 9-ounce baby Jose and watch from their hospital room as the storm passed through the area. UCF Lake Nona Hospital says its windows are built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane.
