What to Know
- Milton strengthened into a major hurricane on Monday and intensified to a Category 5 in a matter of hours
- Forecast models vary widely, but the most likely path would have Milton weakening, and then making landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3, still a major hurricane
- Dozens of Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward, were under a state of emergency due to Milton
- Sandbag distributions were underway in South Florida. Get yours here
- The Florida Keys were under a tropical storm watch and Miami-Dade and Broward counties are under flood watches. See all severe weather alerts here
Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 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.
Milton's maximum sustained winds quickly increased to 175 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico as the storm moved to the east about 700 miles southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
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.
