Hurricane Milton churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Tuesday as an “extremely dangerous” storm that could wallop one of the state’s major population centers just two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.
The system is threatening the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people and has managed to evade a direct hit from a major hurricane for more than 100 years. Milton is also menacing other stretches of Florida’s west coast that were battered when Helene came ashore on Sept. 26.
Traffic was thick Tuesday heading north out of Tampa on Interstate 75 as people fled the area ahead of Milton. As they evacuated, crews along the coast hurried to clear Helene’s debris so that Milton doesn’t turn it into dangerous projectiles.
Hurricane Milton is again a Category 5 storm as it barrels toward the Florida coastline, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday afternoon. Milton had previously weakened to a Category 4 storm, but its wind speeds have increased once again past the Category 5 threshold.
When Will Milton Make Landfall and How Strong Will It Be?
Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s central Gulf coast late Wednesday. Forecasters said Tuesday that although it will likely fluctuate in intensity, Milton will remain “an extremely dangerous hurricane ” through landfall.
“We must be prepared for a major, major impact to the west coast of Florida,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Milton’s sustained winds had increased to 155 mph (250 kph), with higher gusts, and the storm about 520 miles (835 kilometers) southwest of Tampa.
President Joe Biden postponed an overseas trip so he could remain at the White House to monitor Milton, he warned “could be one of the worst storms in 100 years to hit Florida.”
With the storm expected to remain fairly strong as it crosses Florida, hurricane warnings were extended early Tuesday to parts of the state’s east coast.
Why Are Scientists Saying This Is a Weird Storm Season?
Hurricane Milton is the latest system to come out of what scientists say is the weirdest storm season they’ve ever seen.
Even before the Atlantic hurricane season started, forecasters were predicting a busy year, and it began that way when Beryl was the earliest storm to reach Category 5 on record. But from Aug. 20 — the traditional start of peak hurricane season — to Sept. 23 it was record quiet, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Then five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes in October at the same time — something that never happened before — Klotzbach said. In just 46.5 hours, Hurricane Milton went from just forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane.
How Bad Is Damage Expected to Be?
Florida’s entire Gulf Coast is especially vulnerable to storm surge.
Helene came ashore about 150 miles north of Tampa in the Florida Panhandle and still managed to cause drowning deaths in the Tampa area due to surges of around 5 to 8 feet above normal tide levels.
Forecasters warned of a possible 10- to 15-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay. It is the highest surge ever predicted for that location and has led to evacuation orders for communities all along the coast.
The county that’s home to Tampa ordered areas adjacent to the bay and all mobile and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night. With a predicted storm surge that could swallow a house, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued increasingly dire warnings Tuesday, including telling those who ride out the storm in single-story homes: “So if you’re in it, basically that’s the coffin that you’re in.”
Milton is forecast to cross central Florida and dump as much as 18 inches of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the hurricane center.
What if I Have Travel Plans to Florida?
Tampa International Airport said it halted flights Tuesday morning, posting on X that it is not a shelter for people or their cars. And nearby St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it is in a mandatory evacuation zone and would close after the last flight leaves Tuesday.
In the Orlando area, about 84 miles inland from Tampa, major theme parks Walt Disney World and Universal remained open Tuesday ahead of Milton even as other parts of Orlando’s tourism machine shut down. Orlando International Airport — the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most trafficked — said it would cease operations Wednesday morning.
Disney said it was operating under normal conditions and planned, for now, only to close its campgrounds and rental cabins in wooded areas. Both theme parks said they would continue monitoring the weather and adjust accordingly.
What’s happening in Mexico?
Mexican officials were organizing buses to evacuate people from the low-lying coastal city of Progreso on the Yucatan Peninsula after Mexico’s National Meteorological Service said Hurricane Milton “may hit between Celestun and Progreso.”
Celestun, on the western corner of the peninsula, is a low-lying nature reserve home to tens of thousands of flamingos. Progreso, to the east, is a shipping and cruise ship port with a population of about 40,000.
Dozens of residents and tourists lined up with suitcases and other belongings on Monday to catch an evacuation ferry off Holbox Island, near the eastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Holbox, which is popular for its seascapes and tends to flood even in light rain, may be one of the closest Mexican points that Milton brushes before moving northeastward toward Florida.