PC Weather Boy took note of Milton when it was the small Tropical Depression 14, and warned it could become an issue for Florida. Depression 14 became Tropical Storm Milton. It formed in the Gulf of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche. The storm earned the name Hurricane Milton when it was still near the Yucatan Peninsula. The bulk of hurricanes that impact Florida’s west coast form south and east, and move west and north. Milton formed south and west of Florida and traveled east and north—Florida in the center of its predicted path the entire time.
The Plant City government worked steadily to prepare for Milton to save lives and minimize damage. The city a handles hurricanes in three phases: 1. Approach; 2. Storm Impact; 3. Recovery.
As soon as city government is notified there is a potential hurricane heading toward the area, staff begin preparations. While Milton was still in the Gulf, sandbag crews worked overtime to get those in resident’s hands. Bags were available on Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Local news showed people at other facilities using shovels to fill their own sandbags. Plant Citians merely had to drive through the Streets & Stormwater facility to pick up pre-filled sandbags since the City of Plant City has two machines that can produce 900 15-20 pound sandbags per hour. Also, pre-storm, Streets & Stormwater staff inspect all the infrastructure that is important to drainage, and the places that have caused problems in the past. “We check all that stuff in advance,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said. “Does that mean we are not going to have flooding? Absolutely not. When you get as much rain as we are talking about from this storm—and trees coming down that end up blocking things—you are going to get back ups. But we have done everything ahead of the storm to prepare. Then we will respond as quickly as is practicable afterwards.”
General Services made sure the buildings were ready—that generators were topped off and sandbags were delivered to city facilities to block the doors. The Plant City Police Department made preparations including setting up the Emergency Operations Center. Fire Rescue set up for response and rescue during and after Milton. In addition, city government took on the responsibility of taking care of homeless people. The Code Enforcement Division tried to encourage them to go to shelters. The two closest shelters open to the public were Durant High School, and Strawberry Crest High School. These shelters were open to everyone, including those who live in manufactured housing, or in low-lying areas. “Everybody has their role to play,” McDaniel added. “If it’s not all hands, it’s quite a few of them.”
Milton fluctuated between Category 3 and Category 5 as it sped across the Gulf of Mexico. Close on the heels of destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, Milton made landfall at Sarasota’s Siesta Key at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane. According to weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles, three things added to Milton’s force: 1. Warm water in the Gulf of Mexico; 2. A weather boundary over the Atlantic; and 3. Jet stream wind. It is quite rare for a hurricane that hits Florida to originate in the southwest Gulf of Mexico instead of the Atlantic or the Caribbean. The last time a hurricane traveled from the Bay of Campeche to Florida was in 1867.
Due to Milton coming completely from the west, the hurricane broadsided Florida and kept Plant City in its crosshairs. The eyewall of Milton—where the highest winds blow—passed nearby. At the time, Milton had downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane. According to PC Weather Boy, at its peak, Plant City experienced wind gusts of 100 miles per hour. PC Weather Boy’s rain gauge read 12.54 inches. Milton broke a Florida record with 126 issued tornado warnings in one day. Three million people were left without power. In Hillsborough County, there were 517,000 power outages, which is 73 percent of TECO customers. At last count, 16 people statewide died as a consequence of Milton.
“The first thing in the morning after Milton, Plant City’s Streets & Stormwater Department was out cleaning up,” Vice Mayor Jason Jones said. “The Plant City Police Department has been on patrol during the nights to make sure no one is breaking into businesses without power. Plant City has done an amazing job.”