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Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday, as Floridians brace for the yet another major storm to make landfall this week.
The storm comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene wreaked havoc on Florida’s coastline.
Here’s what to know about the hurricane:
Expected landfall
The center of the storm system is expected to make landfall midweek, likely early Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm system’s center is expected to come ashore in the Tampa Bay area, posing a risk to much of the western coastline and inland Florida. Forecasters say the storm could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida.
By midday Monday, the storm’s center was about 700 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla. and headed east at 9 mph.
Florida governor’s debris warning
As the storm approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is warning residents about the heightened risk that loose debris from Hurricane Helene could bring to their communities.
He is urging everyone to make sure the messes get cleaned up before Hurricane Milton comes ashore, noting the objects could become dangerous as the extremely high winds begin to lift objects and throw them around.
DeSantis said more than 300 state vehicles were picking up debris on Sunday, but that they initially encountered a problem when they hit a locked gate at a landfill. The Florida governor said state troopers tied a rope from the truck to the gate to bust it open.
“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said. “We have to get the job done.”
Tampa mayor Jane Castor warned residents to take the storm seriously at a news conference.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Castor said at the news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 percent of the time.”
Evacuations and cancelations
Florida is bracing for what The Associated Press is describing as “potential mass evacuations,” and officials said there could be the largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017, when approximately 7 million Floridians left their homes.
Residents are encouraged to take action immediately and heed their evacuation orders, whether they be mandatory, voluntary or specific to mobile homes.
Here are the county evacuation orders, as of midday Monday:
Mandatory:
Charlotte County
Citrus County
Hillsborough County
Manatee County
Pasco County
Pinellas County
Voluntary:
Glades County
Okeechobee County
Sarasota County
Upcoming:
Hernando County (Tuesday, Oct. 8 )
Schools and events were canceled, too, ahead of the storm’s anticipated landfall.
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s NHL game Monday against the Nashville Predators was canceled, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were relocating to the New Orleans area for the week ahead of their Sunday NFL game against the Saints.
All road tolls were suspended in western central Florida.
The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it would close after the last flight Tuesday, and the Tampa International Airport said it planned to stop airline and cargo flights beginning Tuesday morning.
In Pinellas County, which includes to St. Petersburg, all classes and school activities were closed Monday through Wednesday, as schools were being converted into shelters.
Storm surges and flash flooding
Experts are warning of a “life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds” for large parts of the west coast of the Florida peninsula, beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday.
Storm surge and hurricane watches were in effect by midday Monday for parts of the west coast of Florida.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of the increased risk that “the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide” will bring to the area, saying it will “cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters.”
In Tampa Bay, the water could reach a height of 8-12 feet, and in Charlotte Harbor and other nearby coastal areas, the storm surge could reach 5-10 feet, the NHC said.
Milton is expected to bring rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches, with localized totals of up to 15 inches in parts of Florida and the Florida Keys, through Wednesday night, according to the NHC.
“This rainfall brings the risk of considerable flash, urban, and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding,” the NHC said.
What the National Weather Service (NWS) is saying
The NWS and other expert forecasters have zeroed in on the storm’s rapid growth, as Milton reached 175 mph winds, exceeding the necessary threshold to be the most-dangerous Category 5 hurricane.
The NHC said Milton “explosively” intensified as it urged the public to follow local officials’ advice.
The NWS’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) noted the historic speed with which Milton grew.
“#Milton has rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm, the 3rd fastest rapid intensification in the Atlantic Basin behind Wilma (2005) and Felix (2007) per @NHC_Atlantic,” the account on X said, sharing a short satellite view of the storm “where you can see the eye becoming clearer.””
FEMA urged the public not to delay evacuating, if instructed to do so.
“If you’re in the path of Hurricane #Milton, the time to act is NOW. If evacuation orders are given, DO NOT DELAY—leave immediately. Staying could mean risking your life and the lives of those you care about,” FEMA warned on Monday.
Experts have also noted that Tampa has not been hit directly by a hurricane in more than a century – not since the deadly 1921 hurricane that saw storm surges of 11 feet.
MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel, who has studied hurricanes for 40 years, told the AP that, in the past century, Tampa’s population has exploded in size and is now largely unprepared for what’s to come. He called the hurricane a worst-case scenario for the area.
“It’s a huge population. It’s very exposed, very inexperienced and that’s a losing proposition,” Emanuel told the AP. “I always thought Tampa would be the city to worry about most.”
Emanuel also noted that the area is susceptible to flooding because of its physical features, including that it lies low.
The Associated Press contributed.
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