PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla., (NewsNation) — A Pinellas County man tells NewsNation that while he’s lived in Florida for many years, Hurricane Milton has a particularly ominous feeling about it.
“We’re starting to get some of the outer bands,” said Harry Berg, a local resident and uncle of NewsNation meteorologist Max Tsaparis. “This storm has got a really bad feel to it — and I’ve been here for many years.”
Berg said his decision not to evacuate the area doesn’t mean he isn’t taking the storm seriously. But it’s part of “being a Floridian.”
Floridians told to shelter in place as Milton approaches
“You have to prepare for this. What we’re getting ready to face is something that we’ve never seen before, the likes of this … to make a long story short, you just have to make sure you’re repaired.”
Berg said his primary concern at the moment is wind. He added that if conditions become too dangerous by Wednesday afternoon they will “seek shelter.”
“We have hurricane-proof windows, we’re boarded up correctly, we have enough rations, we have generators, we have everything,” he said.
The National Hurricane Center has predicted Milton will likely weaken, but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.