By Steven Yablonski. Media: FOX Weather
Hurricane, Storm Surge Warnings expand across Florida as dangerous Milton takes aim at state
Hurricane Warnings and Storm Surge Warnings have expanded to Florida’s east coast as potentially deadly Hurricane Milton continues to spin across the Gulf of Mexico on a path that will bring the monster storm into the Sunshine State on Wednesday.
TAMPA – Forecasters say Hurricane Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida, which includes the Tampa area, as millions of residents continue to prepare for life-threatening impacts and evacuate the coast and other low-lying areas ahead of the monster storm’s arrival on Wednesday night as Hurricane and Storm Surge Warnings expand to the state’s east coast.
On Monday, Hurricane Milton underwent rapid intensification and strengthened from a Category 1 hurricane to a near-record-breaking Category 5 hurricane with winds of 180 mph and a minimum central pressure of 897 millibars. Milton has since weakened to a Category 4 hurricane as the storm skirts the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is expected to remain an “extremely dangerous hurricane” through landfall along Florida’s west coast.
“It’s worth emphasizing that this is a very serious situation, and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials,” the NHC warned on Tuesday. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”
The NHC said the central pressure within Hurricane Milton fell to the second-lowest pressure on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the lowest pressure in the Atlantic Basin since 2005.
In terms of maximum sustained winds, Milton has also become the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and tied for the fourth-strongest storm since recordkeeping began. Hurricane Allen holds the top spot with maximum sustained winds that reached 190 mph in 1980.
Florida residents flee, recovery resources staged
Hurricane Milton is likely to bring life-threatening impacts to Florida, including a deadly storm surge, destructive hurricane-force winds and flooding rain that has millions of residents finalizing their emergency plans, while countless others are packing up and fleeing the coast and other low-lying areas as state and local officials plead with people to listen to officials and leave if evacuations are ordered.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency over the weekend for 51 of the state’s 67 counties, and on Monday, President Joe Biden approved the state’s pre-landfall emergency declaration request, which now authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures.
Watch: Police escort trucks filled with debris ahead of Milton’s arrival in Florida
FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel recorded video of police vehicles escorting trucks filled with storm debris left behind after Hurricane Helene in Madeira Beach, Florida, as preparations coninue ahead of Hurricane Milton.
Local officials began to issue voluntary and mandatory evacuations for residents up and down Florida’s Gulf Coast, including Hillsborough County and Pinellas County, ahead of the storm, and traffic has been building on roads and highways since those evacuation orders were issued.
“Of course, we suspended the tolls along evacuation routes and the Florida Department of Transportation has opened roadway shoulders as necessary to facilitate evacuations and ease congestion on both I-4 and I-75,” DeSantis said.
The National Weather Service office in Tampa is warning of catastrophic damage and some homes may be uninhabitable “for weeks or months.”
“Structural damage to study buildings, some with complete roof and wall failures,” the NWS warned. “Complete destruction of mobile homes. Damage greatly accentuated by large airborne projectiles.”
Schools and universities across the region have been closed and resources have been staged to be ready to go to assist in recovery efforts once the storm passes and it’s safe to do so.
(Getty Images)
Travel is also expected to be significantly impacted by Hurricane Milton, with airports across the region announcing they will cease operations as Milton approaches.
“We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out,” DeSantis said on Tuesday. “So, we currently have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of gasoline. Those numbers are less than what they were 24 hours ago because we’ve put a lot in.”
DeSantis said an additional 1.2 million gallons of diesel and gas was headed to Florida, and stressed there was no fuel shortage.
Tampa International Airport (TPA) suspended operations on Tuesday morning, while Orlando International Airport (MCO), Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, and Melbourne Orlando International Airport (MLB) in Melbourne will close to commercial flights starting on Wednesday.
(FOX Weather)
The first tropical alerts were issued for the U.S. on Monday when Hurricane, Tropical Storm and Storm Surge Watches were issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Those alerts have since expanded and upgraded to warnings as the dangerous situation continues to unfold and Milton gets closer to the Sunshine State.
Hurricane Warnings stretch across the Florida Peninsula from Cedar Key, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers on the state’s west coast to Orlando in Central Florida and Daytona Beach and Melbourne on the state’s east coast.
Tropical Storm Warnings have also been expanded to cover all of South Florida, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the Florida Keys.
Farther north, Tropical Storm Warnings were also issued for Jacksonville, Perry, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, and Port St. Joe.
(FOX Weather)
Storm Surge Warnings were issued for Florida’s west coast on Monday, and there is the potential for a record storm surge in places like Tampa Bay.
“The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the south of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves,” the NHC said. “Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances.”
(FOX Weather)
A storm surge of up to 15 feet is possible for Tampa Bay, as well as from the Anclote River to Englewood, Florida.
A storm surge of 6-10 feet is possible from Englewood to Bonita Beach, as well as for Charlotte Harbor.
The current storm surge forecast for Tampa Bay is up to 15 feet if the peak surge coincides with high tide. This is notably higher than during Helene, when Tampa Bay saw 7-8 feet of storm surge.
Hurricane Milton is located more than 500 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and has maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, making it a strong Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Milton is moving off to the east-northeast at 12 mph.
What is the forecast for Hurricane Milton?
The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Milton is moving off to the east-northeast, and a turn to the northeast is expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. On that track, the center of Milton is expected to move north of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.
Milton is forecast to make landfall in Florida Wednesday night as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher).
(FOX Weather)
Discussion about this post