Hurricane Milton roared ever closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, leaving little time left to flee for the millions of people living in the crosshairs of what could be one of the most destructive storms on record.
Milton regained some steam overnight, strengthening once again to a massive Category 5 storm with windspeeds up to 160 mph. As of 8 a.m., the monstrous storm system was centered some 250 miles southwest of Tampa, churning toward the coastline at approximately 16 mph, according to the National Hurricane Centers most recent update.
Milton is forecast to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday as a Category 4 storm, with sustained wind speeds near 130 mph. And while the storm appears poised to strike near Tampa, experts emphasized that “it is critical to remember that even at 24 hours out, it is still not possible to pinpoint an an exact landfall location.”
Based on the current track, “the center of Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida late tonight or early Thursday morning, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon,” the NHC added.
With Milton’s outer bands closing in, many Floridians have already begun feeling impacts of the storm. Rain has started to fall in some parts of the state, and weather conditions will likely deteriorate across parts of the Florida Gulf Coast throughout the day, the NHC said.
Six to 12 inches of rain, with localized totals up to 18 inches, were expected across central to northern portions of Florida through Thursday, bringing the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, as well as moderate to major river flooding. Floridians across central and southern parts of the state could also see several tornadoes throughout the day, meteorologists warned.
“Hurricane conditions are expected in the hurricane warning area across Florida beginning this evening through early Thursday,” the NHC said. “Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin in the warning area on the east coast of Florida tonight and along the Georgia coast on Thursday.”
Storm-weary residents have spent the last couple days bracing for Milton’s arrival. It comes nearly two weeks after Florida was battered by Hurricane Helene, now the deadliest storm to strike the United States since Katrina.
By late Tuesday, eleven Florida counties, home to about 5.9 million people, were under mandatory evacuation orders. And officials have urged those who still have an opportunity to flee to do so.
“Do not hesitate. If you can get out, get out,” Colin Burns, Deputy Incident Commander in Pasco County, told CNN
Hurricane warnings have been issued for much of central Florida from the Gulf side to the Atlantic side, including the Tampa Bay area, Fort Myers, Orlando, Cape Canaveral and Daytona Beach.
With News Wire Services
