Hurricane Milton takes aim at Florida

Hurricane Milton remains a major hurricane as of Tuesday morning with sustained winds between 140-150 MPH making it a strong Category 4 storm.

The center of Milton is approximately 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. It’s expected to turn to the east-northeast later on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center forecast has Milton approaching the west coast of the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday before making landfall near the Tampa area on Wednesday night as a major Category 3 hurricane.

While Floridians are no strangers to storms, Tampa hasn’t been in the direct path of a major hurricane in over a century. The National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday that “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.

The wind field of Milton is expected to grow in size as it approaches Florida. Hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds are expected to double in size by the time it makes landfall late Wednesday.

Damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge, heavy rainfall and tornadoes will all be likely.

Forecasters warned that Milton could bring a 10- to 15-foot storm surge to Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders being issued for beach communities all along the Gulf coast. In Florida, that means anyone who stays is on their own and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.

Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall and as it makes its way across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean with rainfall totals as high as 18 inches possible, according to the hurricane center. Parts of the state’s eastern coast were put under hurricane and tropical storm warnings early Tuesday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the state has helped evacuate over 200 health care facilities in Milton’s path and that 36 county-run shelters are open. The state has also been scrambling to remove debris from recent Hurricane Helene, lest the messes become projectiles when Milton strikes. He said the state has deployed over 300 dump trucks that are working around the clock and have removed of 1,200 loads of debris.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history.