A satellite image shows the progress of Hurricane Milton ahead of its expected landfall in Florida in the Gulf of Mexico on October 9, 2024.
CIRA | NOAH | Via Reuters
Steady rain hit the Tampa area Wednesday morning and winds are expected to increase in the afternoon as Floridians prepare for Hurricane Milton. The storm's intensity continues to fluctuate as it approaches the state's west coast and is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, the second-highest rating.
The National Hurricane Center said Monday that the storm had strengthened to a Category 5 storm, but had dropped to Category 4 on Wednesday morning with sustained winds of up to 155 mph. The NHC said the storm would remain a hurricane as it moved across the Florida Peninsula.
A storm surge warning is in effect for the central to southern west coast of Florida, including Tampa. The NHC warning warns that “there is a risk of life-threatening flooding in the indicated locations over the next 36 hours from rising waters flowing inland from the coast.”
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, the storm was about 190 miles southwest of the Tampa metropolitan area and moving northeast at a speed of about 17 mph with sustained winds of 145 mph. According to the NHC, the hurricane is expected to make landfall late Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning.
Vehicles move through a partially flooded street in Dunedin ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall in Florida this evening, October 9, 2024.
Bryan R. Smith | AFP | Getty Images
Milton quickly intensified as he crossed the Gulf of Mexico through the heat of the Gulf's surface waters. When a storm develops into a hurricane, it absorbs energy from heat in surface waters, and with 2024 on track to have the warmest average global air temperature on record, it's no surprise that Milton will do so in such a short time could get stronger over time.
Nearly 6 million people in more than 10 counties are under evacuation orders. The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote Wednesday: “Your life is at serious risk if you don't take immediate action – every second counts.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said people near the coast still had time to evacuate inland and recommended they go to one of 149 general population shelters across the state.
“Currently, the total shelter population is only 31,000 people. We have space for a total population of almost 200,000 individuals in these shelters. So there is space available in these shelters,” DeSantis said in a storm briefing Wednesday morning. He said he expected more people to head to shelters Wednesday afternoon and night.
Rown Williamson secures a gas pump at a Costco store ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton on October 8, 2024 in Naples, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
DeSantis also said the Florida Highway Patrol assisted 106 long-haul tanker truck attendants to transport nearly a million gallons of gasoline to Tampa and other areas.
Gas stations across the state have already run out of fuel as people either try to leave the state or stockpile fuel for generators at home. About 23% of the state's 7,900 gas stations are currently without fuel, up from about 17% on Tuesday, according to data from GasBuddy.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell recommended Wednesday that Floridians in areas under a storm surge watch should still attempt to evacuate, even if they are just a few miles inland. “Milton will be a deadly and catastrophic storm,” Criswell said in a news conference.
Criswell also said she would travel to Florida on Wednesday to help with recovery efforts once the storm hits. “I want people to hear directly from me, FEMA is ready,” she said.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning Wednesday for most of central and southern Florida, including Miami-Dade County. The warning also includes hail up to half an inch in size and isolated gusts up to 70 miles per hour.
At 11 a.m., the NHS reported tornadic supercells throughout South Florida. The NWS already reported a tornado along I-75 near Miami as the hurricane's outer bands moved through the area.
Another tornado was recorded near the Everglades, a wetland on the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula.
The rushed preparations for Milton come as Floridians are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on September 26th. More than 225 people died from the storm and recovery efforts lagged as the storm isolated communities. Helene also highlighted the unpredictability of hurricanes, as the storm turned into a tropical storm and still devastated the inland city of Asheville, North Carolina.
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