Hurricane Milton and Helene devastated many states including Florida. ABC 27 Meteorologist Dan Tomaso planned a family vacation in Florida, but it was postponed for a few days due to Milton.

“So, I was there about three days after the hurricane hit. And again, luckily, the Orlando area did not experience major issues, especially in the area that I was in. But the farther west you went across Florida, the more damage, wind damage like rain and wind gusts in excess of 100mph for a few locations.”

Unfortunately, according to Tomaso, the Hurricane season for 2024 is not over. The waters of the Caribbean are currently warm and that’s where storms begin.

“And there are several models that are that advertised, computer models that have advertised something happening either right near Halloween or in the days following Halloween from the Caribbean northward to, say, possibly Florida. We're hoping that's not the case or even along areas of the East Coast. So, what essentially has been happening lately for us is just these big areas of high pressure coming in and leading to all this dry, sunny weather for fall and even warmer than average weather.”

Now that we are heading into wildfire season, Tomaso urges smokers to not litter as the ground is drying up.

“If you are out camping, if you are driving along the highway and there's woods, it's as simple as don't throw your cigarette outside the window because everything right now is turning so dry that we have a lot of kindling near the ground. And any tree debris, any leaves that can catch fire very quickly. And on a breezy day like day, it's something to be aware of that fires can get out of control very quickly.”

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