Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm and produced multiple tornadoes and raging winds as it tore across the state.
Milton’s approach had everyone in Florida on edge Tuesday night.
But a Florida man instantly realized he made a mistake by picking a fight with this one bartender.
Hurricane season kicked off this year on June 1 and runs all the way through November 30.
With over six weeks left in the season, five hurricanes have already made landfall in the United States.
Hurricane Beryl hit Texas as a Category 1 storm in July and Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana as a Category 2 in September.
The other three hurricanes all made landfall in Florida.
Since 1851, only eight other seasons have had at least five hurricanes make landfall in the United States.
The most hurricanes to make landfall in a single season last took place in 2020 when six storms hit the United States.
Six storms also made landfall in the United States in 1886 and 1985.
But two strong hurricanes landing back to back like what recently happened to Florida is a rare occurrence.
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a strong Category 4 storm on September 27 along Florida’s Big Bend Coast.
Helene brought sustained winds of 140 mph and a storm surge that caused record flooding in the region.
It caused its worst damage when it traveled across Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina with some areas recording 30 inches of rain.
But Floridians were preparing for Hurricane Milton’s landfall less than two weeks after Helene.
Unlike Helene, Milton emerged from the Gulf of Mexico and slammed into Florida’s west coast and traveled directly across the peninsula state.
Milton turned into a Category 5 storm as it made its way across the Gulf and had Florida residents on edge.
But Florida people are different.
Some will evacuate as a hurricane approaches, but many simply head to the local bar and try to drink their anxiety away.
On Tuesday, the day before Milton’s landfall, one Florida man went for drinks at the Tavernier Marina/Bar in Monroe County.
But the night did not turn out well for the man.
At around 8:30 p.m., the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received a call about an incident between the man who went for drinks and one of the employees.
According to the police report, 52-year-old bartender Donovan Wayne Steen got into a heated argument with the 48-year-old man over taking his drink outside the establishment.
The argument escalated and quickly turned into a violent physical altercation.
That is when Steen beat the man to the point where he had to be airlifted to a hospital in Miami.
“There was a reported verbal dispute between Steen and a 48-year-old Tavernier, Florida customer/victim regarding outside drinks in the establishment, which escalated into a physical altercation in which Steen punched the victim multiple times while the victim was on the ground, according to witnesses,” the police report read.
The man’s injuries were severe.
“Steen was taken to jail, while the victim was airlifted via Trauma Star to Kendall Hospital in Miami with the following reported injuries: A collapsed lung; multiple fractures to the face, including a possible fractured jaw; deep lacerations to the back of the head, chin, and mouth; and injuries to his eyes, including an orbital fracture,” the police report added.
Steen was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.
Dealing with back-to-back strong hurricanes is difficult enough to handle without getting beat to a pulp.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
