Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh visits survivors of Hurricane Michael in Panhandle

Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh recently visited the Florida Panhandle, which was so severely hit by Hurricane Michael nearly four months ago.

Buresh found Panama City, Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe teeming with demolition machines, busy workers and residents still trying to pick up the pieces.

One of the more profound interviews he had was with Clayton Studstill in Port St. Joe, which is about midway between Panama City and Apalachicola. Studstill and his wife did not evacuate and tried to ride out the storm in the attic of their home, but a natural gas leak eventually ignited, them to swim for their lives.

Buresh Blog: A visit to hurricane Michael's Ground Zero

Studstill spends much of his time now sifting through the ashes of his home, hoping to find anything that might be salvageable or that might be meaningful to his wife and three kids. His big regret is failing to have added "shut off the gas to the home" to his hurricane to-do list – a lesson everyone can learn from.

Cox Media Group