Hurricane Milton strengthens to Category 1 storm, expected to hit Florida as a major hurricane this week
A quickly intensifying storm became Hurricane Milton on Sunday, less than a day after it developed in the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center predict the storm will make landfall on Florida's west coast as a major hurricane this week.
While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian mountains and killed more than 230 people.
Milton was inching toward the Florida peninsula Sunday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph — a jump from the 60 mph winds recorded in the morning. South Florida communities were already feeling some of the storm's early impacts, as Miami-Dade County and the Everglades reported flooding, said CBS News Miami meteorologist KC Sherman. Sherman told residents potentially in the path of the hurricane to expect a flood watch to take effect through Thursday.
"Milton is moving slowly but is expected to strengthen rapidly," the hurricane center said earlier Sunday. "There is increasing confidence that a powerful hurricane with life-threatening hazards will be affecting portions of the Florida west coast around the middle of this week."
A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 storm or larger with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour. The latest forecasts Sunday suggested Milton would make landfall with 120 mph winds.
Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an emergency order on Saturday declaring a state of emergency in 35 Florida counties in preparation for possible landfall by Milton.
On Sunday, DeSantis said that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it's clear that Florida is going to be hit hard — "I don't think there's any scenario where we don't have major impacts at this point."
"You have time to prepare — all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place," the governor said. "Know your evacuation zone — there will be mandatory and voluntary evacuations."
The St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful storm surge. Twelve people perished as Helene swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.
All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg's Pinellas County preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached, and Tampa opened city garages for free so people could park their cars safe from the next floodwaters.
"All available state assets ... are being marshaled to help remove debris," DeSantis said. "We're going 24-7 ... it's all hands on deck."
The Mexican government late on Saturday issued a tropical storm watch for the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestun to Cancun. Hurricane and storm surge watches would likely be required for parts of Florida late Sunday, the hurricane center said.
Heavy rain is possible in the region starting Sunday into Monday, the hurricane center said, with more rain and heavy winds most likely arriving later on Tuesday through Wednesday night. The hurricane center said rainfall totals of 5 to 12 inches are possible across the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys from Milton.