*UPDATE* Hurricane Milton Developing – Wed Afternoon Landfall (Oct 9th)

UPDATE (10/6 @noon): Milton is a tropical storm and expected to increase rapidly to a Cat 3 (120mph). The expected landfall is Wednesday @2:00pm. The current path continues to move south and the current consensus line is Englewood/Venice area. This is a very dangerous scenario for our community. Please make preparations now.

All the major hurricane models are indicating that Southwest Florida will see the effects of Hurricane Milton by mid-week. The storm is expected to develop in the western Gulf and move towards Florida by Wednesday or Thursday. The location is anywhere from Sarasota to the Keys, and the strength is expected to be up to 100 mph (Cat 2). Everyone should begin making preparations now. If this storm hits the Venice-to-Sarasota area as a Cat 2 then we should expect to see significant surge in Cape Haze. While preparing, if you see something in the community that needs to be addressed, please respond to this post.

Things to consider to prepare:
* Remove boat lift covers
* Pool pumps – if surge is a possibility and your pump was installed with couplings, now is the time to disconnect your pump and store it in a high place
* Make arrangements to move your boat to a safe storage facility. If not possible, secure it as best as you possible can.
* Secure/stow outdoor furniture, kayaks, paddle boards, dock boxes, coolers, and other items that could be damaged by surge or winds.
* Make arrangements to move your cars and motorcycles to higher dry ground.
* Unplug electrical devices and stow on counter tops.
* Get fuel for generators and fill up your cars.
* Turn off any/all breakers that you can – including dock & outside power.
* Turn off water supply to house at the meter. If you can’t turn it off at the meter/street then turn off house main and dock water. If you do this then make sure you turn off the power to your hot water heaters.
* Collect important valuables and important paperwork.
* If possible, move valuable non-carry items to a high ground within your house.
* Note: After storm surge, you may experience random outages/flickering of electrical appliances. This may be an indication that there is a problem with a leg of your 240 phase (i.e. power to the house). Call FPL immediately!

On the heels of Hurricane Helene, many of us are still responding to damage. Some homes were forced to remove flooring, walls, etc. We hope that the County can pick these up before Milton comes, but you may want to consider stowing some of the lighter material.

This is also a good time to get to know what your community neighbors and friends are planning. Talk with them about their stay-or-go plans and communication preferences (phone numbers, emails, texts, etc.)

This website will be updated with Cape Haze news during/after the storm.

FORECAST UPDATES:

YouTube – Mr Weatherman – https://www.youtube.com/@MrWeatherman

Wink News – https://winknews.com/hurricane-center/

Matt Devitt Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=matt%20devitt%20wink%20weather

Mike’s Weather Page – https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=mike%27s%20weather%20page