Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded the Florida coastlineMilton has quickly become a major hurricane heading towards the state.
The system threatens the densely populated Tampa metro area, which has more than 1,000 residents 3.3 million people – with a potential direct hit and a threat to the same stretch of coastline that Helene hit.
Traffic on northbound Interstate 75 was heavy Monday as evacuees fled before Milton. Crews are also rushing to clean up the debris left behind by Helene.
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According to the Live Hurricane Tracker from the National Hurricane CenterMilton will make landfall on the west coast of Florida late Wednesday. It is expected to be a Category 3 storm, with winds of 180 to 210 km per hour, when it reaches the coast in the Tampa Bay region, which has not been hit head-on by a major hurricane for more than a century.
It could maintain hurricane strength as it barrels through central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That track would largely spare other states destroyed by Helenekilling at least 230 people en route from Florida to the Carolinas.
Milton rapidly intensified over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters Monday afternoon that the hurricane was much stronger than predicted two days ago.
Milton was a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 miles per hour and was located about 675 miles southwest of Tampa by late afternoon.
Those winds decreased to 155 miles per hour early Tuesday and the hurricane was downgraded to Category 4 status. The National Hurricane Center said Milton still posed “an extremely serious threat to Florida.”
The entire Gulf Coast of Florida is particularly vulnerable to storm surges.
Hurricane Helene made landfall about 150 miles from Tampa in the Florida Panhandle and still managed to cause drowning deaths in the Tampa area due to waves about 5 to 8 feet above normal tide level.
Forecasters warned of a possible storm surge of 8 to 12 feet in Tampa Bay. That’s the highest ever forecast for the location and nearly double the levels reached two weeks ago during Helene, National Hurricane Center spokeswoman Maria Torres said.
The storm could also cause widespread flooding. 5 to 10 inches of rain was forecast for mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 14 inches in some places.
Tampa International Airport said it will suspend flights at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The airport said on X that it is not a shelter for people or their cars.
St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it is in a mandatory evacuation zone and will close after the last flight departs Tuesday.
Mexican officials are organizing buses to evacuate people from the low-lying coastal city of Progreso on the Yucatán Peninsula after Mexico’s National Meteorological Service said Hurricane Milton “could strike between Celestun and Progreso” late Monday or early Tuesday.
Celestun, on the western corner of the peninsula, is a low-lying nature reserve where tens of thousands of flamingos live. Progreso, to the east, is a shipping and cruise ship port with about 40,000 inhabitants.
