Talk about coincidences. One Florida family shares a personal connection with Hurricanes Helene and Milton that recently hit. It's the same names as their late parents.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Speaking with the New York Post, Floridian Bryna Widlansky shared that her parents were named Milton and Helene as well. Helene and Milton Aronoff lived a long and happy life and were married for 57 years. The husband passed in 2005 and the wife in 2021. Widlansky feels that both of her parents would be mortified by all the damage in their names.
Family describes the two as "loving and kind." They said that the pair would be "mortified" and also "appalled" if they were alive. Both hurricanes ended up causing billions in damage and killing hundreds.
"You always look at all the names," said Widlansky. "I couldn't believe these names and that they both hit. It's just unbelievable — these two names are always going to be associated [with damage]."
Meanwhile, another family member was thankful that both of them had passed. "I thought, 'I'm glad they're not here - they'd be so embarrassed,'" another daughter, Davidene Alpart, told The Post. "They'd never want to hurt anybody."
Hurricane Milton And Helene
"They're spared — they wouldn't want to be infamous," Alpart also continued. "They were against anything that hurt anybody. They just wanted to be together and enjoy the family — they were all about family."
Both Milton and Helene ended up having three children and six grandchildren. Transplants from New Jersey, they ended up weathering their fair share of hurricanes throughout their lives.
The family also found it strange that both storms were named after the two.
"It's absolutely insane that it worked out this way," said grandson, Josh Widlansky.
The family also took the time to remember both of them. Helene was strong but would "never hurt or kill anybody." Meanwhile, Milton hated asking for directions. If he was the storm, Apart said her father
"would probably get lost and it would wind up in the ocean."
Despite the devastation and everything, the family found an odd sense of irony but also poetry in their parents being together once again. Just not in the way they expected.
"We try to look at it as poetic," said Alpart. "It's just ironic that Helene and Milton are together again."
