Minnesota native prepares for Hurricane Helene in Florida
By the time it makes landfall, the National Hurricane Center is predicting Hurricane Helene will be a major storm with winds above 100 miles per hour.
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The state of Florida, along with the entire southeastern U.S, is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Helene.
By the time it makes landfall, the National Hurricane Center is predicting it will be a major storm with winds above 100 miles per hour. Forecasters are also predicting a deadly storm surge along Florida’s Big Bend, where water levels could be as high as 20 feet, because of that, here could be dangerous flooding all along Florida’s west coast, where my next guest lives.
Since moving to Florida from Minnesota in the late 1980s, Cheryl Magnuson has been through several big storms. She talked with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer about preparing for this one.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
CATHY WURZER: The state of Florida, really the entire Southeastern US, especially the areas along the Gulf Coast, are bracing for the arrival of hurricane Helene. By the time it makes landfall, the National Weather Service Is predicting it could be a Category 3 storm with winds more than 100 miles an hour.
Forecasters are also predicting a deadly storm surge of water along Florida's Big Bend, where water levels could be as high as 20 feet. Because of that, there could be dangerous flooding all along Florida's west coast, where my next guest lives.
Since moving to Florida from Minnesota in the late-1980s, Cheryl Magnuson's been through several big storms. She's on the line right now to talk about preparing for this one. Cheryl, thanks for taking the time. How are you?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: I'm fine. Thank you for letting us provide a little perspective from the ground here. I sure appreciate that.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Well, wow, can you explain where you are along the coast right now?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. Well, right now, I'm actually at my in-laws' place in Tampa because I live in a mandatory evacuation zone. So where I live is on what's called Boca Ciega Bay, which is a smaller part of Tampa Bay, right by Madeira Beach and Redington Shores.
So it's about the westernmost part of Pinellas County. So we're in a flood zone because we're on the bay. So I came in, and my husband is actually still at our house. So he's going to send a video to you, because he says that he doesn't want to leave just yet. So we'll see how long he lasts there.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, no. OK, so he's still at your house.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: He'll be all right.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my goodness. Have you talked to him? Is the weather there still pretty calm?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: It is. And the thing with hurricanes, especially when they're as far offshore as this one is from us at present, is that the weather comes in what are called bands. And the rain bands can be pretty severe. And especially in the northeast quadrant of the storm, typically will see some tornadoes-- and they're small tornadoes.
They're not like big Minnesota tornadoes at all. These are just little ones that come down like waterspouts almost. And then these bands will come through and drop a bunch of rain. And then the sky will turn blue.
And we've had that happen already. Now, we've got one band that's starting to come through right now, and it's starting to get real windy outside. So I actually came inside because I didn't want that sound to interfere with my speaking. But right now, we're just kind of preparing and seeing what's going to happen in the next several hours, which it's certainly going to get a lot worse than it is now.
CATHY WURZER: Gosh, I'm hoping your husband gets out sooner rather than later, though. All the officials are talking about evacuating and getting the heck out of dodge pretty quick.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. Yeah, he will. He will. He just wants to make sure that everything is tied down pretty good and that it's all secure. And where we live, we're up a little ways. So if the storm surge predictions hold, we should be fine.
But we have impact glass, which is the hurricane glass. So it helps to prevent anything flying from coming through the windows so we don't have to use shutters or boards anymore, thankfully. So it makes it a little bit more secure.
CATHY WURZER: So I'm watching CNN, and I usually like to watch local meteorologists. I know you're probably focusing on your local TV stations there. What does it feel like to be waiting to see how bad it could get as you're watching local media?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Well, I'll give one of my favorite local personalities a plug here. His name is Dennis Phillips, and he is an ABC affiliate meteorologist. And he said when these storms start coming like this, it's like being stalked by a turtle.
So you're just kind of waiting for this thing to come, and then it becomes a t-rex. So it's just kind of unnerving.
We know it's out there. You can see it on the satellite. We know it's coming. And we're definitely going to have some effects here, especially with storm surge.
The wind will not be as much of an issue here because most of the really severe wind stayed concentrated around the eye. When that eye hits in the Big Bend area, it will be potentially catastrophic, especially if they have a 20-foot storm surge. That's just almost unimaginable.
CATHY WURZER: I can't even imagine.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: I've been through 8 to 10-foot, but this is just-- the area is less populated than a lot of other parts of Florida. But it's a beautiful part of the state. I've spent a lot of time up there.
And my heart just goes out to all the folks that they're making all their preparations. And they're doing the best they can. And please keep them all in your prayers. That's for sure.
CATHY WURZER: When you think about folks who are going to stay behind, I can't even imagine doing that. You've done that before?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: No, not when I've been in a mandatory evacuation zone. I don't like watching that water rise. I'm not going to do that. There's nothing that's worth that.
I've been in plenty of storms where we weren't ordered to evacuate. And they're very interesting to watch. But if somebody says it's going to be that bad, I'm out of there. I'm not going to stick around.
CATHY WURZER: We've often thought, we were talking here in the newsroom, about what would you bring? If you had to get out fast, it's a strange calculus to make.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: It is. And I've pared it down over the years to a few things that I keep in plastic bins that have o-rings-- so they're somewhat water resistant. And it's enough that will fit in the back of my truck, and then enough clothes to last for a few days.
And that's it. I've just got a couple of things that are really, really important. And those always come with me. But other than that, I just say, well, it's going to be what it's going to be, and hopefully we'll have something when we get back.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Do you have kitties or puppies?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes. I'm a retired veterinarian. And I have just two cats right now. And they're with me.
CATHY WURZER: OK, good.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: They weren't very happy.
CATHY WURZER: I'm sure they weren't.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Put in their carriers this morning, but they're fine.
CATHY WURZER: OK, good.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: They'll adapt.
CATHY WURZER: Do you remember your first storm?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: My first storm was actually Andrew. And that was back in '92. And I was in the lower Keys at the time. So we didn't take a direct hit, thankfully.
But I flew over south Florida, the Homestead area, the Kendall area, about five days later, because I was going to a veterinary conference in New Orleans. And the pilot of this small plane took us down real low.
And I can still see it in my mind's eye, the devastation that took place. So that has kind of stuck with me all these years. And I take all of these storms very seriously. They're all different.
Thankfully, none have been as bad as Andrew, but they've come close, especially Ivan in 2004 when I was up in the panhandle. That had a 14-foot storm surge. So you just have to keep an eye out and do what you can to prepare and save yourself, really?
CATHY WURZER: Gosh.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Everything else can-- like they always say, everything else can be replaced. And it can. You just want to stay safe with your critters and your family. And then you go back and you clean up. If you're going to live by the water, this is part of the deal.
CATHY WURZER: I can understand that, but I'm kind of wondering, have you ever thought of coming back home, or leaving Florida and going somewhere else, with these increasingly intense storms?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. In fact, I come back up to Minnesota two or three times a year, typically in the summer, although I usually have a trip that I make in the winter for one reason or another. And I do-- it crosses my mind. It does.
But I'll tell you, I sit on my dock, and I have dolphins swimming by me. And at this point, it's still worth the risk. So we'll see.
CATHY WURZER: We don't have dolphins in Minnesota, that's for sure. And I bet you are probably hearing from tons of people in Minnesota hoping that you're OK.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes. And, in fact, I alerted a few of my friends-- I said, hey, I'm going to be with Cathy Wurzer. So they're listening from Bloomington, and Minneapolis, and up in Rush City. And so I'm hoping, so I'm going to get a shoutout to all of them.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, good. Good. OK, so you are hunkered down with the in-laws in Tampa with the kitties, and your husband is coming sometime soon?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes, he is. Before that surge starts to really get up there.
CATHY WURZER: OK.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: And right now, it's not too bad. I'll send you a video of what he what he just showed me.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: But, yeah, when that eye passes, he'll be out of there before then, for sure.
CATHY WURZER: I am seeing, though-- so I have one eye on the National Hurricane Center's website too, and I'm sure you do, too. And it looks like this eye is going to come zipping right up.
And Tampa kind of is in a bit of a red zone. Are you thinking you might get some pretty decent wind out of this?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: We're probably going to get some gusts. Our sustained winds probably won't go over 50 to 60 miles an hour, even for very long. Mostly it's going to be probably in the 30 to 40-mile-an-hour range.
But we'll definitely get some 70, maybe more mile-an-hour gusts. So, yeah, there'll be trees down, there'll be power outages. All over the state already, there are people coming from other electric companies.
The trucks are lined up. They're out at Tropicana Field. They're out at the fairgrounds. They're ready.
It's really amazing how fast the power typically comes back on, because there's such an influx of these people that come here to help so fast. It's pretty amazing.
CATHY WURZER: Well, Cheryl, I'll tell you what, A, I appreciate you talking to me. And, B, we all wish you well-- you, and the family, and everyone around you. And we're going to be keeping our fingers crossed here that everything's going to work out just fine. So thank you for giving us this update.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Thank you. Well, thank you for allowing me to do this. I really appreciate your time and all that you do. And we'll be OK. This isn't our first rodeo, that's for sure.
CATHY WURZER: No, it's not. My goodness. Take care of yourself. Thank you so much.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Thank you so much. OK.
CATHY WURZER: Cheryl Magnuson is a Minnesota native. She's from Farmington originally, and she's been living on the western coast of Florida for quite some time now. She has evacuated, as she said, and the state is preparing for this Hurricane Helene, which is now about a Category 3, could go to a 4 here by the time it makes landfall sometime this evening. And, of course, we're going to have updates on the air and streaming at mprnews.org.
Forecasters are also predicting a deadly storm surge of water along Florida's Big Bend, where water levels could be as high as 20 feet. Because of that, there could be dangerous flooding all along Florida's west coast, where my next guest lives.
Since moving to Florida from Minnesota in the late-1980s, Cheryl Magnuson's been through several big storms. She's on the line right now to talk about preparing for this one. Cheryl, thanks for taking the time. How are you?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: I'm fine. Thank you for letting us provide a little perspective from the ground here. I sure appreciate that.
CATHY WURZER: Absolutely. Well, wow, can you explain where you are along the coast right now?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. Well, right now, I'm actually at my in-laws' place in Tampa because I live in a mandatory evacuation zone. So where I live is on what's called Boca Ciega Bay, which is a smaller part of Tampa Bay, right by Madeira Beach and Redington Shores.
So it's about the westernmost part of Pinellas County. So we're in a flood zone because we're on the bay. So I came in, and my husband is actually still at our house. So he's going to send a video to you, because he says that he doesn't want to leave just yet. So we'll see how long he lasts there.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, no. OK, so he's still at your house.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: He'll be all right.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, my goodness. Have you talked to him? Is the weather there still pretty calm?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: It is. And the thing with hurricanes, especially when they're as far offshore as this one is from us at present, is that the weather comes in what are called bands. And the rain bands can be pretty severe. And especially in the northeast quadrant of the storm, typically will see some tornadoes-- and they're small tornadoes.
They're not like big Minnesota tornadoes at all. These are just little ones that come down like waterspouts almost. And then these bands will come through and drop a bunch of rain. And then the sky will turn blue.
And we've had that happen already. Now, we've got one band that's starting to come through right now, and it's starting to get real windy outside. So I actually came inside because I didn't want that sound to interfere with my speaking. But right now, we're just kind of preparing and seeing what's going to happen in the next several hours, which it's certainly going to get a lot worse than it is now.
CATHY WURZER: Gosh, I'm hoping your husband gets out sooner rather than later, though. All the officials are talking about evacuating and getting the heck out of dodge pretty quick.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. Yeah, he will. He will. He just wants to make sure that everything is tied down pretty good and that it's all secure. And where we live, we're up a little ways. So if the storm surge predictions hold, we should be fine.
But we have impact glass, which is the hurricane glass. So it helps to prevent anything flying from coming through the windows so we don't have to use shutters or boards anymore, thankfully. So it makes it a little bit more secure.
CATHY WURZER: So I'm watching CNN, and I usually like to watch local meteorologists. I know you're probably focusing on your local TV stations there. What does it feel like to be waiting to see how bad it could get as you're watching local media?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Well, I'll give one of my favorite local personalities a plug here. His name is Dennis Phillips, and he is an ABC affiliate meteorologist. And he said when these storms start coming like this, it's like being stalked by a turtle.
So you're just kind of waiting for this thing to come, and then it becomes a t-rex. So it's just kind of unnerving.
We know it's out there. You can see it on the satellite. We know it's coming. And we're definitely going to have some effects here, especially with storm surge.
The wind will not be as much of an issue here because most of the really severe wind stayed concentrated around the eye. When that eye hits in the Big Bend area, it will be potentially catastrophic, especially if they have a 20-foot storm surge. That's just almost unimaginable.
CATHY WURZER: I can't even imagine.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: I've been through 8 to 10-foot, but this is just-- the area is less populated than a lot of other parts of Florida. But it's a beautiful part of the state. I've spent a lot of time up there.
And my heart just goes out to all the folks that they're making all their preparations. And they're doing the best they can. And please keep them all in your prayers. That's for sure.
CATHY WURZER: When you think about folks who are going to stay behind, I can't even imagine doing that. You've done that before?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: No, not when I've been in a mandatory evacuation zone. I don't like watching that water rise. I'm not going to do that. There's nothing that's worth that.
I've been in plenty of storms where we weren't ordered to evacuate. And they're very interesting to watch. But if somebody says it's going to be that bad, I'm out of there. I'm not going to stick around.
CATHY WURZER: We've often thought, we were talking here in the newsroom, about what would you bring? If you had to get out fast, it's a strange calculus to make.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: It is. And I've pared it down over the years to a few things that I keep in plastic bins that have o-rings-- so they're somewhat water resistant. And it's enough that will fit in the back of my truck, and then enough clothes to last for a few days.
And that's it. I've just got a couple of things that are really, really important. And those always come with me. But other than that, I just say, well, it's going to be what it's going to be, and hopefully we'll have something when we get back.
CATHY WURZER: Wow. Do you have kitties or puppies?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes. I'm a retired veterinarian. And I have just two cats right now. And they're with me.
CATHY WURZER: OK, good.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: They weren't very happy.
CATHY WURZER: I'm sure they weren't.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Put in their carriers this morning, but they're fine.
CATHY WURZER: OK, good.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: They'll adapt.
CATHY WURZER: Do you remember your first storm?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: My first storm was actually Andrew. And that was back in '92. And I was in the lower Keys at the time. So we didn't take a direct hit, thankfully.
But I flew over south Florida, the Homestead area, the Kendall area, about five days later, because I was going to a veterinary conference in New Orleans. And the pilot of this small plane took us down real low.
And I can still see it in my mind's eye, the devastation that took place. So that has kind of stuck with me all these years. And I take all of these storms very seriously. They're all different.
Thankfully, none have been as bad as Andrew, but they've come close, especially Ivan in 2004 when I was up in the panhandle. That had a 14-foot storm surge. So you just have to keep an eye out and do what you can to prepare and save yourself, really?
CATHY WURZER: Gosh.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Everything else can-- like they always say, everything else can be replaced. And it can. You just want to stay safe with your critters and your family. And then you go back and you clean up. If you're going to live by the water, this is part of the deal.
CATHY WURZER: I can understand that, but I'm kind of wondering, have you ever thought of coming back home, or leaving Florida and going somewhere else, with these increasingly intense storms?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yeah. In fact, I come back up to Minnesota two or three times a year, typically in the summer, although I usually have a trip that I make in the winter for one reason or another. And I do-- it crosses my mind. It does.
But I'll tell you, I sit on my dock, and I have dolphins swimming by me. And at this point, it's still worth the risk. So we'll see.
CATHY WURZER: We don't have dolphins in Minnesota, that's for sure. And I bet you are probably hearing from tons of people in Minnesota hoping that you're OK.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes. And, in fact, I alerted a few of my friends-- I said, hey, I'm going to be with Cathy Wurzer. So they're listening from Bloomington, and Minneapolis, and up in Rush City. And so I'm hoping, so I'm going to get a shoutout to all of them.
CATHY WURZER: Oh, good. Good. OK, so you are hunkered down with the in-laws in Tampa with the kitties, and your husband is coming sometime soon?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Yes, he is. Before that surge starts to really get up there.
CATHY WURZER: OK.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: And right now, it's not too bad. I'll send you a video of what he what he just showed me.
CATHY WURZER: Thanks.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: But, yeah, when that eye passes, he'll be out of there before then, for sure.
CATHY WURZER: I am seeing, though-- so I have one eye on the National Hurricane Center's website too, and I'm sure you do, too. And it looks like this eye is going to come zipping right up.
And Tampa kind of is in a bit of a red zone. Are you thinking you might get some pretty decent wind out of this?
CHERYL MAGNUSON: We're probably going to get some gusts. Our sustained winds probably won't go over 50 to 60 miles an hour, even for very long. Mostly it's going to be probably in the 30 to 40-mile-an-hour range.
But we'll definitely get some 70, maybe more mile-an-hour gusts. So, yeah, there'll be trees down, there'll be power outages. All over the state already, there are people coming from other electric companies.
The trucks are lined up. They're out at Tropicana Field. They're out at the fairgrounds. They're ready.
It's really amazing how fast the power typically comes back on, because there's such an influx of these people that come here to help so fast. It's pretty amazing.
CATHY WURZER: Well, Cheryl, I'll tell you what, A, I appreciate you talking to me. And, B, we all wish you well-- you, and the family, and everyone around you. And we're going to be keeping our fingers crossed here that everything's going to work out just fine. So thank you for giving us this update.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Thank you. Well, thank you for allowing me to do this. I really appreciate your time and all that you do. And we'll be OK. This isn't our first rodeo, that's for sure.
CATHY WURZER: No, it's not. My goodness. Take care of yourself. Thank you so much.
CHERYL MAGNUSON: Thank you so much. OK.
CATHY WURZER: Cheryl Magnuson is a Minnesota native. She's from Farmington originally, and she's been living on the western coast of Florida for quite some time now. She has evacuated, as she said, and the state is preparing for this Hurricane Helene, which is now about a Category 3, could go to a 4 here by the time it makes landfall sometime this evening. And, of course, we're going to have updates on the air and streaming at mprnews.org.
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