From the editor: Getting ready in Daytona while praying for the west coast

Greetings readers! We have been bombarding you with a lot of information. If you want to cut to the chase and you live in our circulation area, please check out these two websites:

If you live in Volusia County, go here: https://www.volusia.org/services/emergency-services/emergency-management/

If you live in Flagler County go here: https://www.flaglercounty.gov/departments/emergency-management/storm

OK, done? Let's chat.

Newspaper customers will not see this until after Hurricane Milton has passed. But we can say as the storm bears down on us, that yes, Milton is/was a serious storm, and it no doubt caused some damage locally. After speaking with the staff and some weather nerds, as of this writing on Wednesday afternoon, it appears the storm will cross the state after striking a blow in the Tampa/St Petersburg/Bradenton/Sarasota area and emerge somewhere on the Space Coast.

We were told to expect a lot of rain, hurricane-force winds, and storm surge at the beaches. For the latest news please check out our website: www.news-journalonline.com

It could be worse

While anxiety is running high, I can't help but think of friends and family on the other side of the state.

I lived in St. Petersburg for a decade or so and graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa. I have a brother in St. Pete and a sister in St. Leo, which is well north of Tampa, thankfully.

As the storm approaches that region, I cannot help but recall a chat I had with the former director of the National Hurricane Center, Bob Sheets. Sheets became legendary after Hurricane Andrew in 1993, and we in the media loved him. He was always accessible, ready with a good quote, and most importantly honest.

When I met him, he had taken a bunch of photos of coastal Pinellas County, which is where St. Petersburg and Clearwater are. Sheets ominously called these his "before" pictures. Before what? Before a major hurricane strike, of course.

Chilling warning

The warning was chilling and stays with me to this day. That part of the state hasn't been hit by a major hurricane for more than 100 years. In 1921, hardly anyone lived there. Now it is a bustling metro area with more than 3 million residents, many of whom live near the coast.

Sheets was especially worried about that area, and for good reason.

Tampa Bay is basically a bowl of trapped water. Storms that even pass by cause serious flooding. If Milton charges into the bay, or close to it, the storm surge will be more than 15 feet high. I recall riding my bike on Bayshore Boulevard in those days. My tires would get wet at HIGH TIDE. Imagine what happens during a Category 5 hurricane.

So, let's take care of our local needs first. But let's also remember our friends across the state, we will be called upon to help out. Amazingly, Daytona has never gotten a direct hit from a Category 5 storm. We have been lucky that way. Let's hope we never have to live through the experience.

One day those west coasters may be called upon to give US a hand.

John Dunbar is the Executive Editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: From the editor: Getting ready in Daytona while praying for the west coast