What to Know
- Milton strengthened into a major hurricane (Category 3) on Monday, and rapidly intensified to a Category 4.
- Forecast models vary widely, but the most likely path would have Milton making landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area.
- Dozens of Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward, are under a state of emergency.
- Sandbag distributions are underway in South Florida. Get yours here.
- The Florida Keys are under a tropical storm watch and Miami-Dade and Broward counties are under flood watches. See all severe weather alerts here.
Milton strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a storm surge as high as 12 feet in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.
It took just about an hour and a half for the storm to intensify from a Category 3, according to advisories from the National Hurricane Center.
Milton grew into a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Storm surge and hurricane watches were issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast, and a hurricane warning was issued for Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
Forecast models vary widely, but the most likely path would have Milton making landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remaining a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.
