As it barrels towards Florida, Hurricane Milton poses an extremely serious threat
Tropical Cyclone Milton, a Key Player in the FL Panhandle: State of the State and the Florida State Plan for an Emergency Evacuation
It’s likely within the top three fastest storms on record when it comes to rapid intensification, used to describe tropical cyclones with sustained wind speeds that increase by at least 30 knots (roughly 35 miles per hour) in a 24-hour period. The National Hurricane Center said that Milton has seen a sharp increase in wind speed over the last 24 hours.
The storm is moving toward the west and south-west at a rate of knots. The coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is under a hurricane warning, while hurricane watches, storm surge watches and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect for parts of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula.
As of 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Milton was about 585 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. Milton is expected to make landfall off the western coast of Florida late Wednesday or Thursday morning. The NHC’s forecasters said that the weather may get worse in Florida early on Wednesday.
They say areas of heavy rain will hit Florida on Monday and then again on Tuesday and Wednesday night, with the risk of flash flooding and moderate to major river flooding.
There is also a growing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for parts of Florida’s west coast beginning late Tuesday or early Wednesday. It could raise the water level in parts of Florida to as high as 12 feet.
The NHC said residents should follow any advice given by local officials and evacuate if told to do so.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already expanded an emergency declaration to cover 51 of the state’s 67 counties and is warning people across the peninsula to prepare.
“Do not get wedded to the cone,” he tweeted on Sunday. Even if you live outside of the forecast cone, Florentians should prepare for potential impacts. We recommend that you follow the orders from the local officials.
The state of Florida is preparing for the largest evacuate that we have seen in over a year, when nearly 6.8 million people left their homes, resulting in statewide traffic jams.
He warned inland residents who don’t use electricity for medical needs to stay in place, even though it may be better to just stay in place.
Manatee County and Pasco County have ordered the evacuation of residents in certain low-lying areas, mobile homes and RVs, while Pinellas County ordered the evacuation of all residential healthcare facilities within certain zones.
Many are still recovering from the storm and should take into account how much water, food, and pet food they have left. Do they need to buy new batteries? Have they restocked their supply kits to last each family member up to seven days?
It notes that public school districts in many counties will be closed from Monday through at least Wednesday and that Florida Gulf Coast University — near Fort Myers — will close its campus Tuesday and Wednesday, after shifting to remote operations.
But it is expected to exit into the Atlantic Ocean, sparing many of the southeastern states that were hit hardest by Helene, including Georgia and the Carolinas.
The death toll from hurricanes in the US since 2005 is now more than 220. The majority of victims were from North Carolina, which was ravaged by historic flooding.
Hurricanes are caused by heat energy at the surface of the sea. The warm waters in the gulf of mexico helped increase the strength of Milton, as they did for Helene. Both storms rapidly intensified as they approached shore, benefitting from low wind shear that might otherwise tear a storm apart before it strengthens.
This is the first time in the last 100 years that three hurricanes have hit the Atlantic Ocean after September. In addition to Milton, Hurricanes Kirk and Leslie are also brewing.
“This is almost like three times the threshold that is used. So, yeah, this is definitely off the charts,” Karthik Balaguru, a climate scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, says. Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007 have strengthened more rapidly than that, the NHC says.
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There would be a number of school districts and government facilities closing for several days. Counties have enforced mandatory evacuation zones, and state and local officials have profusely warned residents to follow those orders.
“You don’t have to evacuate hundreds of miles,” Gov. Ron DeSantis has said. You can go to any of the places that are in the county. Maybe it’s a friend’s house, maybe it’s a hotel, maybe it’s a shelter.”
Air travel into Florida is already being disrupted by a new storm. The airport’s website says flights are on break beginning Tuesday morning. The FAA advised travelers to check the flight travel dashboard and their airlines after it said that it was closely monitoring the path of the storm.
Tropical Cyclone Milton is expected to make landfall off western coast of Florida late Wednesday or Thursday. According to the US National Hurricane Center, Milton has seen a sharp increase in winds over the last 24 hours. The coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is under a hurricane warning, while hurricane watches, storm surge watches and tropical storm watches are in effect for parts of the Florida Peninsula.