Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey warns of power restoration delays amid more severe weather

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey says he doesn't think any storm has caused more damage than what was seen Friday.

"The destruction that we've seen is historic," he said in a Monday afternoon phone interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida.

And another severe storm was bearing down on the city, expected to hit later in the day, with possible 75 mph winds, flooding and ping pong ball-sized hail.

Dailey warned that power restoration could be temporarily delayed due to the coming storm. He said there's two things to keep in mind with service delays.

"No. 1 will be the delay in the crews actually being able to get out and do the work," he said. "Also, there's always the potential of having a circuit we just put back on getting knocked off again."

But he said if the hundreds of line workers are paused by the storm, they'll be right back to it when it's safe.

"We will recontinue and move forward throughout the evening and into the morning," Dailey said.

Not near as many residents are without power, though, than the hours immediately following multiple tornadoes striking the area. The city of Tallahassee announced shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday that it had restored power to 91% of its customers.

Still, there are thousands of residents without power. Some have tarps on their roofs, if they have roofs at all. Some have totaled cars.

"Personal safety, first and foremost," Dailey said. "If you don't feel comfortable staying in your place of residence, I highly encourage you to go to a friend's house, a family member's house, one of our shelters here in Tallahassee."

The Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, in coordination with Leon County and the Florida Division of Emergency Management, has opened a shelter at the Al Lawson Center, 1800 Wahnish Way, according to city spokesperson Alison Faris.

Additionally, the American Red Cross Reception Center at 1115 Easterwood Drive will remain open and operational from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday.

"The reception center will serve as a haven for those in need, offering essential amenities such as air conditioning, charging stations for phones, access to water and snacks, as well as assistance and local resources to aid in their recovery efforts," Faris wrote in a text.

'Historic' storms becoming more common

Friday's storm isn't the only recent weather pattern that has wreaked havoc on the area.

A storm system dumped more than 10 inches of rain on areas of Tallahassee last month, flooding roadways and building, leaving some people stranded. Officials are calling it "a bicentennial storm" for its rarity and sheer volume of rain.

When asked about the recent string of historic bad weather, Dailey pointed out that the city hadn't even gotten to the hurricane season yet, which is expected to be hyperactive and begins in June.

"The question is what's going on in the climate," he said. "These storms are becoming more frequent and intense."

It poses even more questions for Tallahassee and communities all around, Dailey added.

"We need to go back into society and as cities and towns all across the United States and reevaluate our standards of what we are going to build and plan for," he said.

At least with hurricanes, he pointed out, people can plan for days in advance. That's not the case with tornadoes and torrential rainfall.

"But nonetheless, the city has done a fantastic job, I believe," Dailey said. "Especially the great men and women of our utility department and our first responders keeping us safe, reacting to this current event. And we'll just keep moving forward.

Live updates on Monday storm: Tallahassee tornado updates: Schools close early as new severe weather threat looms

More on Tallahassee power restoration: After Tallahassee power grid blasted, an around-the-clock response, overloaded outage map

Dailey addresses outage map lag

The City of Tallahassee outage map has been lagging in recent days, far behind in reporting repairs compared to the state's Public Service Commission.

"Look, we're restoring enough so quickly that the system has to catch up," he said. "I would say it's a good thing we're restoring power quicker than the computer system can keep up with."

Dailey said, regardless of the map, the city has been "still very aggressively and proactively communicating with the public exactly where the damages are and where we are working."

"I don't have time to worry about a computer program. I'm focused on getting people's electricity hooked back up," he said.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA TODAY Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: John Dailey warns of power restoration delays amid more severe weather