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    • Hurricane Milton is heading toward Florida as a Category 5: What you need to know
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    Hurricane Milton is heading toward Florida as a Category 5: What you need to know

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    Topline

    Hurricane Milton strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane late Monday morning over the Gulf of Mexico as it barreled toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene killed at least 20 people in Florida before causing devastating flooding in parts of southeastern the USA

    Key facts

    According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton had “explosively intensified” and had maximum sustained winds of 170 mph as of 2 p.m. EDT, qualifying it as a Category 5.

    Milton is expected to pass near Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula on Monday and Tuesday, then cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday.

    Some weakening is expected before the storm reaches Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but Milton is “still likely to be a large and powerful hurricane at landfall in Florida, with life-threatening hazards at the coastline and waterholes.” inland.”

    The storm was located about 700 miles west-southwest of Tampa as of 2 p.m. Monday.

    Hurricane watches are in effect for Florida’s Gulf Coast, from Chokoloskee, about 90 miles south of Fort Meyers, to the mouth of the Suwanee River, including Tampa Bay, and for Lake Okeechobee, about 40 miles inland from West Palm Beach.

    Tropical storm warnings cover much of the same area in Florida, with the addition of the Florida Keys, and a storm surge warning is in effect near Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.

    A storm surge could raise water levels in Tampa Bay and between the Anclote River and Englewood in Florida by as much as 11 feet, and in other parts of the state by 10 to 12 feet (the Hurricane Center says warming the wave “will be accompanied with large and dangerous waves”).

    Hurricane Milton is expected to bring 2 to 4 inches of rain, with localized totals up to 6 inches, across parts of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night, which he said could cause “significant flash, urban and localized flooding.” the NHC.

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    Big number

    15 million. That’s the number of people under flood watch in Florida, and 11 million people are at risk of tropical tornadoes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    Where have evacuations been ordered?

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday declared a state of emergency for 35 counties, including the entire Tampa Bay area, and on said Sunday evening a “flurry” of evacuation orders would be issued over the next 24 hours. According to the Associated Press, Milton could trigger the largest wave of evacuation orders in the state since 2017’s Hurricane Irma, which urged seven million people to leave their homes. Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, ordered evacuations Tuesday evening for areas near Tampa Bay and for all mobile and manufactured homes. Lee County, home to Fort Meyers, issued a mandatory evacuation order for the island of Fort Myers Beach and further orders could come.

    Is Hurricane Milton Impact

    Tampa International Airport will close at 9 a.m. Tuesday and plans to reopen later this week “as soon as it is safe.” Major U.S. airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest, United and JetBlue, are issuing travel waivers that allow passengers flying through affected airports to rebook without having to pay big differences. American Airlines’ travel alert covers 12 Florida airports, Delta’s covers nine and Frontier’s covers eight. United Airlines’ advisory covers travel to and from just five airports: Key West, Orlando, Fort Myers, Sarasota/Bradenton and Tampa.

    Could Hurricane Milton become a Category 6 hurricane?

    There is no such thing as a Category 6 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to classify storms, which only fall into Category 5 and defines storms as having sustained winds greater than 155 mph. Earlier this year, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Space Science and Engineering Center called for adding a sixth storm category as climate change continues to intensify weather events. Under their proposal, Category 5 hurricanes would be redefined to include storms with sustained winds between 155 and 200 mph, and a new Category 6 would describe storms with winds exceeding 180 mph.

    Important background

    Milton is expected to arrive less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene, a major Category 4 storm, hit Florida on September 26. Helene was the worst hit by a hurricane in the Tampa Bay area in 103 years, according to the Associated Press. Despite remaining offshore, Helene inundated parts of the area with a storm surge of several meters. At least 20 people died in Florida from the storm, which then moved 500 miles (800 kilometers) across the southeastern U.S., causing severe flooding in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee. At least 230 people in six states died as a result of the hurricane, which was the deadliest to hit the continental US since Katrina in 2005. Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, about 160 miles north of Tampa, with winds of 230 km per hour. as it moved north it was downgraded to a tropical storm.

    Surprising fact

    Milton will be the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that 2024 will be one of the busiest hurricane seasons on record, with an estimated 8 to 13 hurricanes and between 4 and 7 major hurricanes .

    Mary Whitfill Roeloffs contributed to this report.

    Read more

    Hurricane Milton: Airlines issue warnings for Category 5 storm (Forbes)

    Marjorie Taylor Greene Appears to Claim Democrats ‘Control the Weather’ – After Hurricane Helene Hits the Southeast (Forbes)

    Trump FEMA claim debunked: Agency won’t run out of money because of migrants (Forbes)

    Trump and allies claim Biden/Harris response to Hurricane Helene falls short (Forbes)

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