Hurricane Milton barreled across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday on a path to Florida’s west coast, where mass evacuations clogged highways as people prepared for a potentially historic storm that would make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. Some communities, such as those in and around the Tampa Bay area, were still reeling from the effects of the disaster Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

“While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane due to landfall in Florida,” the National Hurricane Center said. Meanwhile, in Tampa Bay, the National Weather Service described Milton as “a historic storm off the west coast of Florida” that could prove to be the worst storm to hit Tampa Bay in more than 100 years.

Floridians in the hurricane’s potential path lined properties with sandbags, boarded up doors and windows and moved their boats before the storm arrived. Gov. Ron DeSantis this weekend issued emergency orders that now cover 51 counties, whose residents, he said prepare In case of power outages, they should stock up on enough food and water for a week, and be prepared to leave their home if necessary.

Tracking Hurricane Milton

Milton traveled Tuesday just north of the Yucatán Peninsula, where the Mexican government issued hurricane warnings as forecasters expected damaging winds and a life-threatening storm surge to hit parts of the coast. The storm, a powerful Category 4 hurricane, had weakened somewhat since maximum sustained winds swirled above 200 miles per hour on Monday during a rapid period of intensification that the National Hurricane Center called “explosive” and “remarkable.”

That peak power rivaled the most disastrous Atlantic hurricanes in recorded history and happened at breakneck speed. Milton was a tropical storm for only 24 hours before growing into a Category 5 hurricane. the highest ranking on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which rates storms based on their sustained wind speeds.

Milton dropped back to Category 4 overnight. On Tuesday afternoon, the storm raged across the Yucatán Peninsula with maximum winds hovering around 155 miles per hour – just below the Category 5 threshold. Forecasters said they expected Milton to maintain its major hurricane status as it heads west. Coast of Florida.

“It is worth emphasizing that this is a very serious situation,” the hurricane center said Tuesday morning. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes ever to hit west-central Florida.”

Tampa Bay braces for landfall

The latest predictions suggest that Milton will make landfall on or near the Tampa Bay area late Wednesday or very early Thursday, likely as a formidable Category 3 hurricane. Although forecasts for the location and timing of Milton’s landfall have fluctuated somewhat since Monday, when the storm underwent rapid changes, forecasts have remained fairly stable regarding the intensity of the hurricane when it hits land. At that time, Milton’s wind speeds are expected to drop to about 125 mph, according to the hurricane center. This could be devastating for affected places.

Exactly where the hurricane focuses when Milton makes landfall could determine the extent of the destruction it causes in the Tampa Bay area, mainly due to storm surge. wrote CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan.

“The forecast track with Milton has its sights set on the west coast of Florida, but the position of the storm’s center, or ‘eye,’ could determine how catastrophic the impact is on the Tampa Bay area,” Nolan said. “The eastern side of the eye is considered the ‘dirty side’ of the storm, where winds are usually strongest. As the forecast track shifts north, the dirty side falls over Tampa Bay.”

According to Nolan, this creates more serious risks of storm surge in the region. Forecasters have warned that Milton’s arrival could bring a potentially life-threatening storm surge to Florida’s Gulf Coast, which is particularly vulnerable to severe waves. because of its geographyand that’s especially true for Tampa Bay. Several people in Tampa were killed by the storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene, and that storm didn’t even directly hit the city.

Storm surge forecast

Hurricane and storm surge warnings expanded Tuesday to much of Florida’s east coast, which could see waves up to four feet above ground level as Milton moves inland across the state after making landfall, on its route to the Atlantic Ocean. Coastal areas in Georgia and South Carolina could also experience several feet of storm surge.

The threat of storm surge is a major concern for the west coast of Florida. In addition to the hurricane warnings in effect from Bonita Beach northward to the mouth of the Suwannee River, storm surge warnings were also in effect from Flamingo northward to the same location, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.

The hurricane center has warned that storm surge in the Tampa Bay area could reach 10 to 15 feet above ground level.

“The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and south of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and dangerous waves,” the hurricane center said in an advisory Monday afternoon. “Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the wave and the tidal cycle, and can vary widely over short distances.”

Forecasts show that heavy rainfall, up to 18 inches in some areas, could cause “significant flash flooding, urban and regional flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding” in parts of the Florida peninsula through Thursday.

Evacuation zones

Mass evacuations were underway Florida airports have canceled flightsand schools as far south as Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties announced closures ahead of Milton’s expected arrival. Thousands fled the Tampa Bay area and parts of the surrounding region were under mandatory evacuation orders Monday and Tuesday.

“We are now talking about the possibility of a direct hit,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a CNN interview on Monday, where she urged people to heed storm warnings and follow evacuation protocols. Castor noted that the storm surge caused by Helene, while devastating, was significantly lower than the predicted storm surge for much of the west coast of Florida, including Tampa, with Milton.

“Helene was a wake-up call. This is literally catastrophic. And I can say without any dramatization, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you will die,” Castor said.

President Biden the mayor echoed Tuesday morning as the White House announced he would postpone a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor the response to Hurricane Milton.

“I urged everyone, anyone currently in the path of Hurricane Milton to listen to local officials and follow safety instructions,” Biden said. “…If you’ve been given an evacuation order, you need to evacuate now, now, now – you should have evacuated already. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Mr. Biden said he had pre-approved emergency declarations in Florida and sent Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell to the state on Monday. The president also said he has spoken to all the political leaders in the region expected to feel the impact of Milton and told them, “Anything they ask for, they can get.”