Hurricane Milton is now moving over the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida tonight (Wednesday), around Tampa and Sarasota.
It is predicted to be one of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes in a long time.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center reports that as of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Milton is once again categorized as a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 260 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour).
The storm is still predicted to be extremely strong with a large wind field, even though the wind speeds are a little lower than they were yesterday.
The official prediction is that the hurricane and tropical storm-force winds will nearly double, according to a report from the National Hurricane Center on Tuesday.
Along with powerful winds, water will be a huge issue.
Dramatic pressure changes over the sea are set to cause an abnormal rise in sea levels that will flood the land, known as a storm surge.
Storm surges of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet) could strike the Tampa Bay area, Egmont Key, and Boca Grande.
Much of the coast of the Florida Peninsula will be hit with some degree of storm surges, from the Florida Keys in the south to Indiana Pass in the northwest and Altamaha Sound in the northeast.
Heavy rain from Tuesday through Wednesday night will also become a serious peril, causing flash flooding as well as major river flooding.
Mayor Castor issued Executive Order 2024-5 on Sunday, declaring a state of emergency due to Hurricane Milton.
She has called for all residents in Tampa Bay to evacuate the area before the storm strikes, including some mandatory evacuation orders for people in Hillsborough County and those living in mobile homes.
Florida was among the states struck by Hurricane Helene a couple of weeks ago in late September, killing at least 227 people.
Hurricane Milton will be a very different storm to Helene and direct comparisons are unwise, but power outages, widespread damage to property, and loss of life are not to be unexpected.
Milton’s extreme wind speeds and forecasted storm surge could make it one of the most dangerous to approach Florida in recent memory, comparable to past destructive storms like Hurricane Andrew (1992), Katrina (2005), and Irma (2017).
