Hurricane Milton is strengthening Sunday over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico as it becomes officially a hurricane expected to slam into the west coast of Florida later this week. As of 4:00 PM CDT, the center of the hurricane was located 275 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 805 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida. It had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was moving east at 7 mph. Milton is expected to reach major hurricane status in a day or two; Minimum sustained winds of 111 mph would be needed to become a Category 3. According to the NHC bulletin, hurricane warnings have been issued for the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestún to Cabo Catoche, and a tropical storm warning from east of Cabo Catoche to Cancún. A flood watch is in effect for South Florida through Thursday morning. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 85 mph (140 km/h) with higher gusts. Milton is forecast to rapidly intensify during the next couple of days and become a major hurricane on Monday. Governor Ron DeSantis increased the number of Florida counties under a state of emergency from 35 to 51 on Sunday ahead of the Milton’s impact. DeSantis issued Executive Order (EO) 24-214, Emergency Management – Tropical Storm Milton on Saturday evening only including 35 counties, now 16 more have been added under precaution to what is expected to be a “catastrophic major hurricane.” Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties are all included. For the full list of counties under state of emergency, click here. Miami-Dade Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, shared in her X account that “crews are hard at work clearing storm drains, ensuring pumps are ready and focusing on areas prone to flooding.” FDOT also shared through their X account that under Gov. DeSantis’ direction, they have “activated available state personnel and resources to supplement local communities … in preparation for Tropical Storm Milton.” This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.