As it barrels towards Florida, Hurricane Milton is posing an ” extremely serious threat”
Florida State Emergency Management Plan for a Third-Mean-Surprising Tropical Storm Associated with Hurricane Irma
This has been happening for a while. It shouldn’t matter whether the storm is the third most or the 10th most rapidly intensifying storm. This pattern of storms intensifying more rapidly is related to climate change. I think it’s worth thinking about, especially when it’s close to landfall.
The storm is about 165 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 745 miles west-southwest of Tampa. The coast of the Yucatan Peninsula is under a hurricane warning, while hurricane watches, storm surge watches and tropical storm watches and warnings are in effect for parts of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula.
As of 2 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Milton was about 585 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. Milton is expected to make landfall off the western coast of Florida late Wednesday or Thursday morning. The NHC forecasters said that the weather in Florida may get worse earlier in the day.
The agency stated that there would be hurricanes and tropical storm conditions on the west coast of Florida as early as Wednesday afternoon.
There is a chance of a life-threatening storm surge in parts of Florida’s west coast Tuesday or early Wednesday. In coastal areas of Florida, they expect it to raise the water levels to as high as 12 feet.
“Residents in that area should follow any advice given by local officials and evacuate if told to do so,” the NHC said, referring to the west coast of the peninsula.
In the event of a storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared an emergency in 51 of the state’s 67 counties.
“Do not get wedded to the cone,” he tweeted on Sunday. “Floridians should prepare now for potential impacts, even if you live outside of the forecast cone. We would recommend that you follow the order from the local officials.
The Director of Florida Emergency Management said on Sunday that the state is preparing for the largest evacuated that we have seen since Hurricane Irma, with over 6 million people leaving their homes.
He said it might be better for inland residents who don’t have to rely on electricity for medical needs to just stay in place.
Manatee County and Pasco County have ordered the evacuation of residents in certain low-lying areas, mobile homes and RVs, while Pinellas County ordered the evacuation of all residential healthcare facilities within certain zones.
Guthrie also said Floridians should take into account that many are still recovering from Helene: Did they use up their reserves of water, food, pet food? They don’t know if they need fresh batteries. Have they restocked their supply kits to last each family member up to seven days?
It notes that public school districts in many counties will be closed from Monday through at least Wednesday and that Florida Gulf Coast University — near Fort Myers — will close its campus Tuesday and Wednesday, after shifting to remote operations.
It is expected to exit into the Atlantic Ocean, sparing most of Georgia and the Carolinas, which were struck by the storm.
More than 220 people were killed by Helene, one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. The Associated Press reports that many of the victims were in North Carolina.
Scientists are also exploring whether climate change is causing storms to gain strength more quickly, as Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton have all done this year. It can be difficult to evacuate communities in time when storms intensify rapidly.
The three simultaneous hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic Ocean after September is the first of its kind. In addition to those two, there are also other ones.
“This is almost like three times the threshold that is used. “This is definitely off the charts,” said a climate scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007 have strengthened more rapidly than that, the NHC says.
Tampa Airport is Placing Flights During the Mid-Atlantic Hurricane Michaeli (Milnor) on Tuesday, April 14
School districts and government facilities in the area announced they would be closed for several days. The state and local officials have profusely warned residents to follow orders to leave their homes.
“You don’t have to evacuate hundreds of miles,” Gov. Ron DeSantis has said. You can go to any of the places within the county. Maybe it is a hotel, a friend’s house, or a shelter.
Air travel between Florida and other places is being affected byMilton. The Tampa International Airport said it was pausing flights beginning Tuesday morning. The FAA said on X that it was monitoring the storm and that it advised travelers to check their airlines’ flight travel dashboard.
Warmer ocean temperatures can lead to heavier rainfall and more severe flooding. When a storm moves toward land, it sucks up huge amounts of water, which falls as rain, and can cause flooding far from the coast.
In 2012 there were two hurricanes which were Category 1 and landfall. But one was Hurricane Sandy, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage up and down the East Coast.