Tropical Storm Milton just rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane, moving toward Florida just days after Hurricane Helene impacted the state. Federal forecasters anticipate that Milton will reach Florida’s west coast by Wednesday at the latest.
“We are expecting Milton to be a hurricane as it moves across the state of Florida, this is a storm that is going to be growing in size and bringing impacts to much of the Florida peninsula,” reported National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan in a live video update on Sunday.
The storm intensified into a hurricane on Sunday afternoon, gaining strength as it drew energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters initially predicted that Milton would reach major hurricane status, classified as a Category 3, 4, or 5 storm, on Monday. Now upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane, Milton is expected to maintain its strength with high winds of 130 mph in the Gulf. It may weaken to a Category 3 storm, defined by sustained winds of at least 111 mph, at landfall.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Hillsborough County or Pinellas on Wednesday night. To prepare for possible disruptions, he made an emergency declaration for 51 counties, including Pinellas.
According to the National Hurricane Center, at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday, Hurricane Milton was about 230 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 765 miles west-southwest of Tampa. The storm was generating maximum sustained winds of approximately 90 mph and was moving east at 7 mph.
The center stated that: “On the forecast track, Milton is forecast to move just north of the Yucatán Peninsula and across the southern Gulf of Mexico Monday and Tuesday and approach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula by Wednesday”.
Gov. DeSantis explained that a 24/7 effort is currently underway in the state to clean up the wreckage left by Helene in preparation for Milton. The potential impacts of this next hurricane, which are expecting damaging winds and storm surges, could exacerbate an already adverse situation, he then added.
Officials urged residents along Florida’s West Coast to consider evacuating early to avoid traffic congestion.
“Have a plan and put it into action,” Governor DeSantis advised. “You can certainly leave now; there is no need to wait for an evacuation order”.
DeSantis also stressed that both voluntary and mandatory evacuations are planned in several areas, including probably the barrier islands.
Since 1850, only two storms originating from Campeche Bay in the Gulf have made landfall in Florida, and if Milton were to maintain its current trajectory, it would be the third on the record. Thus, Milton is also poised to become the fifth hurricane to strike the U.S. mainland in 2024, tying 2004, 2005 and 1893 for the second-highest number of landfalls registered.
