Hurricane Milton is rapidly strengthening and on track to become a major hurricane heading toward the Tampa Bay area, prompting Florida to issue evacuation orders along its coast that has yet to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
While forecast models vary, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall on Oct. 9 in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic, forecasters told the AP.
Landfall forecasts for the latest storm of the Atlantic hurricane season show Hurricane Milton largely avoiding other southeastern US states devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said it was clear that Florida would be hit hard by Hurricane Milton. "I don't think there's any scenario where we don't have a major impact at this point," he said.
The latest storm information from the US National Hurricane Center said that Hurricane Milton was centered about 1,310 km west-southwest of Tampa on the afternoon of October 6, with maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h.
"With Milton strengthening to hurricane strength, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three hurricanes at the same time since September, when Hurricane Kirk and Hurricane Leslie were both active," said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach. Previously, there were four hurricanes at the same time in August and September.
According to Fox News' hurricane report, Hurricane Milton is expected to continue to rapidly intensify, reaching Category 4 hurricane strength on October 8 and then weakening slightly before making landfall in Florida on October 9. However, hurricane forecasters warn that Hurricane Milton is still likely to strike Florida as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher).
A major storm is defined as a Category 3 hurricane or higher with maximum sustained winds of at least 180 km/h. The latest forecast on October 6 shows Hurricane Milton making landfall with winds of 195 km/h.
Before Hurricane Mitlon, the Atlantic hurricane season had three strong storms of Category 4 or higher, including Hurricane Kirk, Hurricane Helene and Superstorm Beryl.
Millions of people across the Florida peninsula are on alert as Hurricane Milton rapidly strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico and heads toward the state.
If Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida, it will be the third hurricane to hit Florida in the 2024 hurricane season, following Hurricanes Debby in August and Helene in September.
The situation is evolving rapidly, with forecasters at the US National Hurricane Center first identifying Milton as Tropical Depression 14 on the morning of October 5.
Hours later, the center issued a special warning about the development of Tropical Storm Milton. About 24 hours later, in the early afternoon of October 6, Milton strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane.
