Florida is bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm expected to make landfall on Wednesday. The Tampa Bay area, home to over 3.3 million people, is particularly vulnerable as it hasn’t experienced a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. The region is still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which struck less than two weeks ago.
The entire west coast of Florida is under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as Milton, with its 145 mph (230 kph) winds, spins just off Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Milton to a Category 4 hurricane early Tuesday, but forecasters emphasized that it still poses a “serious threat to Florida.”
Forecasters are warning of a 10 to 15-foot (3- to 4.5-meter) storm surge in Tampa Bay, a significant concern given the area’s low-lying coastline. Milton’s rapid intensification on Monday, reaching Category 5 status with sustained winds of 180 mph (285 kph), before being downgraded, has heightened anxieties.
Fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Milton became the third-fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean. It surged from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane, the most powerful category, in less than 24 hours.
In response to the approaching hurricane, evacuation orders have been issued for coastal communities along the Gulf Coast. Milton is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it makes landfall and then moves across central Florida towards the Atlantic Ocean. Heavy rainfall, with totals as high as 18 inches (20 centimeters), is expected, potentially causing catastrophic damage and power outages lasting days.
President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida, mobilizing over 7,000 federal workers in one of the largest deployments of federal personnel in history. As residents heed evacuation orders, a steady stream of vehicles heads north towards the Florida Panhandle on Interstate 75. Assuring residents that there would be enough fuel for their journeys, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis advised, “You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away.”
As of 10 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, the eye of the storm was 65 miles (105 km) north-northeast of Progreso, a Mexican port near the Yucatan state capital of Merida, and 585 miles (840 km) southwest of Tampa, moving east at 9 mph (15 kph).
