Hurricane Milton, which had weakened to a Category 4 early Tuesday, rebounded back to Category 5 strength in the afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm still posed a dire threat to Florida as officials issued warnings to residents to evacuate ahead of landfall.
“Time is running out," Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday. "But you do have time today to heed any evacuation orders and do what you need to do to protect yourself and your families.”
The storm was expected to reach Florida's Gulf Coast between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday, according to a new NBC News forecast. It appears headed for on or near Sarasota, where projections point to up to 15 feet of storm surge along its coast and almost no surge in Tampa Bay.
Milton is a Category 5 storm with winds near 165 mph, the NHC said in its 10 p.m. ET advisory. The storm is expected to cause widespread damage when it makes landfall and as it moves east across central Florida through Thursday.
The storm is likely to bring up to 12 inches of rainfall, with localized totals up to 18 inches, across parts of Florida through Thursday. Intense rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening flash and urban flooding, together with moderate to major river flooding.
“Today is the last full day for Florida residents to get their families and homes ready and evacuate if told to do so by local officials,” the hurricane center said.
The storm landed on the Mexican Caribbean coast on Tuesday, bringing strong winds that knocked down trees and disrupted power lines across Quintana Roo.
Milton spared Quintana Roo’s beaches on its way north to Florida, but local officials said the state continues to be on moderate risk alert in the north.
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“The precipitation generated by this tropical system could generate landslides, increases in the levels of rivers and streams, as well as overflows and floods in the mentioned states,” an advisory said.
Mexican officials said so far no fatalities have been reported, only minor damages such as waterlogged roads, fallen trees, and power outages.
On Monday afternoon, the NHC said the storm had "explosively" intensified into a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 hurricane in a matter of hours.
The storm could weaken further to a Category 3 before it makes landfall Wednesday on the west coast of Florida, NBC News forecasters said.
Still, by key measures, Milton is shaping up to be one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, and it has done so in an astonishingly short amount of time, evolving from Tropical Depression 14 to a Category 5 hurricane in less than three days, according to NBC News.
As of 8 PM 10/7, #Milton has entered the top 5 most intense Atlantic hurricanes since records began. The NOAA Hurricane Hunters measured a minimum central pressure of 897 mb in Major Hurricane Milton this evening. pic.twitter.com/Fm1L7D1WlH
— NWS Jacksonville (@NWSJacksonville) October 8, 2024
Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out for the region and its 3.3 million residents. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history, The Associated Press reported.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a Monday news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time."
DeSantis said Monday that an around-the-clock operation to clear debris and fallen trees from Helene was underway ahead of Milton's arrival to minimize the threat from flying objects.
With emergencies declared in dozens of Florida counties and evacuations underway, residents have clogged highways and interstates as they make their way out of the storm's path.
Officials in Pinellas County, which includes the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, said they are expecting storm surge up to 15 feet and have issued mandatory evacuation orders for more than 500,000 residents.
During the evacuation of St. Petersburg, a small plane crashed just east of the city Tuesday morning, officials say. Of the four passengers and a small dog onboard, three were taken to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Evacuation orders are in effect for people in zones A, B and C and all mobile homes in the county. Cathie Perkins, director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, said it’s a matter of when, not if, the area gets hit by Milton.
“We’re going to get hit, whether it’s a direct hit or it moves slightly,” Perkins said this afternoon in a news briefing. “There’s just no ifs or buts about it.”
She said the county will likely experience tropical storm conditions beginning tomorrow around 3 p.m. ET. Perkins said the predicted storm surge is “not survivable,” adding that the impacts will likely be much more devastating than from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.
“This is the ocean coming into your living rooms,” Perkins said. “This is fast, rising water with a lot of pressure behind it. So don’t think that you’re going to be able to ride that out. Don’t think you’re going to be able to protect your building. It’s going to be pushing against the walls of your structure for hours and hours, and this is why we need you to go.”
