2024-10-07 22:42:56
Parts of Florida‘s west coast are already under hurricane and storm surge warnings ahead of the arrival of “extremely dangerous” Category 5 Hurricane Milton, which advances this Monday through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and could hit Yucatan early tonight (Mexico).
The powerful system, which intensified “explosively” toward Florida this morning, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), is located 80 miles (125 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 675 miles (1,085 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, on the west-central coast of Florida.
Milton has maximum sustained winds of 285 kilometers per hour (180 miles) and is moving at a speed of 17 kilometers per hour (10 miles) and is expected to turn east-northeast on Tuesday, according to the latest NHC bulletin.
The center of Milton is expected to “move near or just north of the Yucatan Peninsula tonight and Tuesday,” cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and “approach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula on Wednesday,” forecasters indicated.
The potentially catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Milton will fluctuate, but “will remain an extremely dangerous hurricane until it makes landfall in Florida,” the NHC warned.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the west coast of Florida, from Bonita Beach northward to the mouth of the Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay.
The dangerous storm surge will be accompanied by large destructive waves and rainfall of up to 25 centimeters is expected.with localized totals up to 15 inches in parts of the Florida peninsula through Thursday.
This precipitation will be associated with a significant risk of flash flooding along with the potential for moderate to significant riverine flooding.
The Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) alerted Florida residents today that “now is the time to prepare” for Hurricane Milton’s arrival and to comply with evacuation orders on the state’s west coast.
President Joe Biden’s Cabinet approved an emergency aid declaration for Florida on Monday, meaning the state will have access to more federal aid, the White House announced in a statement.
For his part, The governor of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, said Monday that the state has focused all resources to facilitate the preparation and evacuation of people at greatest risk.. “Please execute your plan now,” he said at a news conference this afternoon.
Florida, still trying to recover from Helene’s damage, is preparing for the largest evacuation since 2017 due to the threat of Hurricane Milton, which will cross nearly the entire state from west to east starting Wednesday to blow into the Atlantic.
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