1776Reporting
A restaurant owner in Florida has kept his dive bar open for over 30 years, weathering every storm that comes its way. Now, despite warnings of an unprecedented hurricane, he remains defiant.
Hurricane Milton is set to be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in a century. The state, still recovering from the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Helene just 12 days ago, is once again bracing for impact. Officials have urged Gulf Coast residents to evacuate ahead of the storm’s anticipated landfall late Wednesday.
Initially classified as a Category 5, Hurricane Milton has weakened slightly to a Category 4, but it remains a serious threat. Meteorologists predict that winds will reach up to 150 mph, accompanied by storm surges up to 15 feet high in west-central Florida.
Amid these dire warnings, Becky Oldfield reveals that her family, who owns The Rock Springs Bar & Grill in Apopka, Florida, has no intention of closing. “Big Rip” Oldfield, Becky’s father-in-law, has kept the bar running without interruption since 1986, even during past hurricanes, the Covid-19 pandemic, and holidays.
“We’re still having karaoke tonight as we do every Tuesday,” Becky shared with The U.S. Sun. “We’ve ordered 300 cases of beer. These people are very nuts around here. It’s a dive bar. We usually get a storm crowd during a hurricane.”
While Becky and her husband operate an ice and water stand nearby, her in-laws are determined to stay put at their bar, despite the looming threat. They’ve prepared six generators to handle potential power outages. “They’re staying the night in the bar,” Becky explained. “We have six generators ready to crank it up.”
Despite their determination, Becky acknowledges that if conditions become too severe, they will have no choice but to shut down. “If it gets crazy, it will shut down,” she admits, though adding with a laugh, “But, me personally, I don’t think they will shut down because they’re crazy.”
The severity of Hurricane Milton has led to more than a million evacuation orders along its projected path, with six million more under hurricane-watch warnings. Tampa’s Mayor, Jane Castor, has issued a blunt warning to residents: “I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.” Her message highlights the gravity of the storm, which she notes is unlike anything seen in the Tampa Bay area in living memory.
Meteorologists echo the concern, with Orlando forecaster Noah Bergren calling the storm’s intensity “nothing short of astronomical.” He noted the storm’s power in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storm’s small eye and intensity.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has also stressed the seriousness of the situation. “This is a ferocious hurricane,” DeSantis warned. “The effects of that, not just from the storm surge but from wind damage and debris, will be really, really significant.”
Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert echoed the evacuation call, urging residents to flee before it’s too late. “You have to evacuate; it’s not survivable to face a 10 to 15-foot storm surge. It just simply isn’t,” Alpert told NBC News.
The federal government is taking action as well. President Joe Biden canceled an overseas trip to monitor the situation. His administration is closely overseeing preparations for Hurricane Milton, along with the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.
Hurricanes, like Milton, form over warm ocean waters. The storm systems, also known as tropical cyclones, gather energy from evaporating seawater, creating powerful wind systems that spiral around a calm center, or “eye.” While they weaken as they move over land, the destruction they leave in their wake—through flooding, wind damage, and storm surges—can be catastrophic.
As the storm inches closer, millions of Floridians are left waiting, wondering what Hurricane Milton will bring. Meanwhile, at The Rock Springs Bar & Grill, it seems business will carry on, hurricane or not.
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