Some Floridians watch Milton from Chicago, some Chicagoans ride it out in Florida

CHICAGO (CBS) — Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida Wednesday night, and some people escaped to the Chicago area ahead of time—while some Chicagoans stayed behind and rode out the storm in Florida.
One family, the Scotts, had to split up. Dad, kids, and grandmother all made it to Chicago, but mom was not able to leave due to her job.
Now back in Chicago, Shaka Scott kept a close eye on his home security from a safe 1,100 miles away. He has four cameras trained on the house.
“This probably the most I’ve ever checked this, ever,” Scott said. “You can see the palm trees swaying in the wind.”
The rain was picking up and conditions were deteriorating as the cameras rolled. Scott said such conditions were exactly why he brought his kids with him to Chicago.
“Exactly,” he said, “and this is just the beginning of the storm.”
Scott made the decision to ditch Tampa and board a plane with his three children and his mother. They arrived to his in-laws in Chicago on Monday.
“It’s not cheap to get tickets for five people, but we were able to do it—and get out before the airport closed,” Scott said.
Even though the Scotts’ Tampa home does not sit within the evacuation zone, Scott did not want to take any chances with his family.
“Even if we’re not worried about being flooded, that if there are other affects like—lack of electricity, other aspects of infrastructure being adversely affected—that we’re at least in a safe place,” Scott said.
Yet Scott felt Milton and the threat were different from even most hurricanes.
“Never left town because of a hurricane,” he said.
While Scott, children, and his mother were all safe in Chicago, they did leave his wife, Dalia, in Tampa.
“She’s a journalist in the Tampa Bay Area, and you know, she’s working right now to cover the storm for her station. I’m worried,” said Scott. “She’s a professional. She’s experienced doing this, so I trust her judgment.”
The children are thankful that dad trusted his gut to leave early.
“I’m happy,” said Anna Scott, “because like, I was back home, I’d probably be like scared or something.”
“We got a week off of school, and now we know we have power,” said Richard Scott.
Joseph Scott is enjoying his stay at grandma’s house.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Can’t ask for better treatment; better food.”
Back in Florida, Lena Smith—who splits her time between Chicago and Tampa—decided not to evacuate. She does not live in the zone where it is required.
“We’re not in a flood zone and not in an evacuation zone, so, should be safe,” she said in a social media video.
But Smith did report sideways rain and said there were tornadoes everywhere.
Smith rode out Hurricane Milton with her family in Florida, and took people along for the ride—posting updates on social media.
“As a Chicagoan who is now going through her second hurricane in a 10-day timeframe,” Smith said.
Smith, who already rode out Hurricane Helene, said she prepared for Milton’s landfall with last-minute trips to the grocery store for necessities like water and flashlights. At home late Wednesday ahead of landfall, Smith was busy charging the family’s electronics while the power was still on.
“This is just a game of like being prepared,” she said.
Kevin Petschow went with the opposite impulse and decided to evacuate.
“For me, it was very simple,” he said. “I could survive a Cat 1, Cat 2. But when on Sunday going into Monday, seeing the acceleration of going from a 2 to a 5, that made my decision much easier.”
Petschow left the snowy winters of the Chicago suburbs for sunshine in Tampa five years ago. He flew back to Chicago Monday to avoid the storm.
“Oh, how ironic that is,” Petschow said. “I jokingly said I don’t ever want to shovel snow ever again, and that’s true. But I didn’t realize the impact that hurricanes have down there.”
While Petschow will miss the storm, he said many of his friends and neighbors stayed back home in Tampa.
“Keeping in touch with them best as I can—giving them moral support,” he said.
Petschow is staying with family in Wrigleyville, and said he is not sure when he will return to Florida. Ultimately, it will depend on how severe the storm damage is back at his home in Tampa.