Parts of the the west coast of Florida is already under hurricane alert and storm surge awaiting the arrival of “extremely dangerous” Category 5 Hurricane Miltonwhich advances this Monday through the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and could touch the Yucatán (Mexico) first this evening.
The powerful system, which intensified “explosively” this morning toward Florida, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), is located 80 miles (125 kilometers) to the west-northwest from Progreso (Mexico) and 675 miles (1,085 kilometers). southwest of Tampa on the west-central coast of Florida.
Milton presents maximum sustained winds of 285 kilometers per hour (180 miles), is moving at a forward 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,” they said. indicated the meteorologists.
“Potentially catastrophic” Category 5 Hurricane Milton will experience fluctuations, but “will still be a hurricane.” extremely dangerous until it makes landfall in Florida,” the NHC warned.
A hurricane warning was issued for the west coast of Florida, from Bonita Beach north to the mouth of the Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay.
The dangerous storm surge will be accompanied by big and destructive waves and rainfall of up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) is expected, with localized totals of up to 15 inches in parts of the Florida peninsula through Thursday. This rainfall will be associated with a significant risk of flash flooding, as well as the potential for moderate to major river flooding.
The Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) alerted Florida residents on Monday that “now is the time to prepare” for the arrival of Hurricane Milton and obey evacuation orders on the west coast of the state.
The administration of President Joe Biden approved this Monday a emergency aid declaration for Floridameaning the state will have access to more federal aid, the White House said in a statement.
For his part, the governor of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, declared on Monday that the state had concentrated all resources to facilitate the preparation and evacuation of those most at risk. “Please execute your plan now,” he said at a press conference this afternoon.
Florida, still recovering from the damage caused by Helene, is preparing for the largest evacuation since 2017 due to the threat of Hurricane Milton, which will cross almost the entire state from west to east from Wednesday to go out into the Atlantic.
