Hurricane Milton on track to make landfall in Florida, potentially historic major storm

Hurricane Milton crossed the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday toward the west coast of Florida, where mass evacuations clogged highways as people braced for a potentially historic storm. Some communities, like those in and around the Tampa Bay area, were still reeling from the aftermath of the disaster. Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

“Although fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane until it makes landfall in Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay described Milton as “a historic storm for Florida’s west coast” that could prove to be the worst storm to hit Tampa Bay in more than 100 years.

Floridians in the hurricane’s potential path sandbagged their properties, boarded up doors and windows and moved their boats before the storm arrived. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued emergency orders over the weekend that now include 51 counties, whose residents he said should prepare for power outages, stock up on food and water for a week and be prepared to leave their home if necessary.

Tracking Hurricane Milton

Milton was traveling just north of the Yucatán Peninsula on Tuesday, where the Mexican government issued hurricane warnings as forecasters expected damaging winds and a potentially deadly storm surge to hit parts of the coast . The storm, a powerful Category 4 hurricane, has weakened somewhat since its maximum sustained winds exceeded 180 mph Monday during a period of rapid intensification that the National Hurricane Center called “explosive” and of “remarkable”.

This maximum force rivaled that the most disastrous hurricanes in the Atlantic in recorded history and happened at breakneck speed. Milton was a tropical storm just 24 hours before strengthening into a Category 5 hurricane. the highest ranking on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which rates storms based on sustained wind speed.

Milton fell back to category 4 overnight. On Tuesday afternoon, the storm swept across the Yucatán Peninsula with maximum wind speeds hovering around 250 km/h, which is just below the Category 5 threshold. Forecasters said they expected as Milton maintains its status as a major hurricane on its way west. Coast of Florida.

“It should be emphasized that this is a very serious situation,” the hurricane center said Tuesday morning. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record in west-central Florida.”

Tampa Bay prepares to make landfall

The latest forecasts suggest that Milton will make landfall on or near the Tampa Bay area Wednesday evening or very early Thursday, likely as a formidable Category 3 hurricane. Although forecasts for where and when Although Milton has swayed somewhat since Monday, when the storm underwent rapid changes, forecasts have remained fairly stable for the intensity of the hurricane as it hits land. Wind speeds in Milton are then expected to drop to around 125 mph, according to the hurricane center. For affected locations, this could be devastating.

Exactly where the hurricane is centered when Milton makes landfall can determine the extent of the destruction it causes in the Tampa Bay area, primarily related to storm surge, wrote Nikki Nolan, CBS News meteorologist.

“The predicted track with Milton is aimed at the west coast of Florida, but the position of the storm’s center, or ‘eye,’ can determine how catastrophic the impacts are on the Tampa Bay area,” Nolan said . “The eastern side of the eye is considered the ‘dirty side’ of the storm, which is where the winds tend to be strongest. As the forecast track shifts north , the dirty side then falls on Tampa Bay.”

This creates more severe storm surge risks in the region, according to Nolan. Forecasts warn that Milton’s arrival could bring a life-threatening storm surge to Florida’s Gulf Coast, which is particularly vulnerable to high surges. because of its geographyand that’s especially true for Tampa Bay. Several people died in Tampa due to the storm surge from Hurricane Helene, and that storm didn’t even directly hit the city.

Storm surge forecast

Hurricane and storm surge warnings were expanded Tuesday to include large sections of Florida’s east coast, which could potentially experience surges of up to 4 feet above ground level as Milton heads inland over the state after making landfall, on its way to the Atlantic. Coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina could also experience storm surges of several feet.

Storm surge threats are a major concern for the west coast of Florida. In addition to hurricane warnings in effect from Bonita Beach northward to the mouth of the Suwannee River, storm surge warnings were also in effect from Flamingo northward to the same location, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.

The hurricane center warned that storm surge in the Tampa Bay area could reach 10 to 15 feet above ground level.

“The deepest waters will be along the immediate coast, near and south of the landfall, where rising waters will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves,” the hurricane center said in a published advisory Monday afternoon. “Flood-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the flood and the tidal cycle, and can vary significantly over short distances.”

Forecasts show that heavy rainfall, up to 15 inches in some areas, could cause “considerable flash, urban and regional flooding, as well as moderate to major riverine flooding” in parts of the Florida peninsula through Thursday .

Evacuation zones

Mass evacuations were underway as Florida airports cancel flightsand schools as far south as Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties announced closures ahead of Milton’s expected arrival. Thousands of people fled the Tampa Bay area and parts of the surrounding region were under mandatory evacuation orders issued Monday and Tuesday.

“We’re talking now about the possibility of a direct hit,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Monday in a CNN interview, where she urged people to heed storm warnings and follow emergency protocols. ‘evacuation. Castor noted that the storm surge from Helene, while destructive, was significantly lower than the storm surge predicted for a large portion of Florida’s west coast, including Tampa, along with Milton.

“Helene was a wake-up call. It’s literally catastrophic. And I can say, without any drama, that if you choose to stay in one of these evacuation zones, you’re going to die,” Castor said .

President Biden ” the mayor echoed Tuesday morning when the White House announced it would postpone a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor the response to Hurricane Milton.

“I urged everyone, everyone currently in the path of Hurricane Milton, to listen to local authorities and follow safety instructions,” Mr. Biden said. “…If you’re under an evacuation order, you should evacuate now, now, now – you should have already evacuated. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Mr. Biden said he had pre-approved emergency declarations in Florida and sent Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell to the state on Monday. The president also said he spoke with every political leader in the region who might feel the impacts of Milton and told them, “Whatever they ask for, they can get.”