How Helene and Milton Compare to Other Deady Hurricanes
My mother talked about Hurricane Hazel, but how does it compare to Helene?
My mother used to scare me with tales of Hurricane Hazel. “Hazel devastated our town. We had never seen anything like it,” she would say, filling me with horrific visions of doomsday storms.
Maybe Hazel was the reason she herded us kids into the hall away from windows and doors every time a thunderstorm rolled through our small town. Her fear of storms was a palpable thing, both frightening and thrilling.
Now, 70 years later, I still think of Hazel when news of another hurricane draws us, riveted, to our TV screens.
This year, the storm season seems to be especially ferocious. We were still reeling from Hurricane Helene when Milton battered Florida, spawning more than 19 tornadoes along with the usual winds and storm surges.
I contacted a friend in Bradenton, Florida the day before the storm, and she assured me she was above flood levels and was staying put instead of evacuating. I haven’t been able to reach her yet, but I hope she wasn’t in the path of any of the deadly tornadoes preceding the storm.
