Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast late Wednesday or early Thursday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Milton remains a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of about 160 mph, located 160 miles west of the Dry Tortugas and about 300 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, the NHC said in its 4 a.m. ET advisory.
“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” the NHC said in a forecast discussion.
Forecasters warn the immense and powerful storm could generate “life-threatening” storm surge of up to 15 feet in a region that's particularly flood-prone.
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According to the NHC, areas with populations of around 11.4 million were under hurricane warnings.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and others warned people Tuesday to finish their storm preparations and evacuate as Hurricane Milton approached the state as a Category 5 storm.
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“Time is running out," DeSantis said on Tuesday. "But you do have time today to heed any evacuation orders and do what you need to do to protect yourself and your families.”
Thousands have evacuated to public shelters around the Tampa Bay area, and there's still room for more residents, the government of Pinellas County said on X.
The storm landed on the Mexican Caribbean coast on Tuesday, bringing strong winds that knocked down trees and disrupted power lines across Quintana Roo.
Milton spared Quintana Roo’s beaches on its way north to Florida, but local officials said the state continues to be on moderate risk alert in the north.
Mexican officials said so far no fatalities have been reported, only minor damages such as waterlogged roads, fallen trees, and power outages.
Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out for the region and its 3.3 million residents. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history, The Associated Press reported.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time."
The sheriff of the county that includes Tampa, part of the most populous region in Milton’s bull’s-eye, said that those in mandatory evacuation zones who stay put are gambling with their lives, NBC News reported.
“They’re on their own, you know,” Sheriff Chad Chronister of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, told “Top Story with Tom Llamas” last night.
“I don’t know why you’re gambling with your life or the life of your loved one, but realize this storm is going to be different,” the sheriff said. “When these wind shear and wind speeds reach a certain speed, I can’t imagine a feeling when someone calls for help and there’s no one coming.”
