Florida’s Gulf Coast was racing to prepare for “ferocious” Category 5 Hurricane Milton, which exploded in less than 24 hours into one of the most intense and powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record with maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 miles per hour on Monday. As of 11 p.m. Monday, Milton’s winds had dropped to 165 mph, still a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane. It was located about 630 miles west-southwest of Tampa, just north of the Yucatan Peninsula, moving east at 9 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the center. Milton’s forecast track was aimed straight at Tampa Bay, a region that has not endured a direct hit from a hurricane in more than a century. If the track holds and Milton remains a major hurricane, the storm surge in the region would be catastrophic, forecasters said. Landfall is forecast overnight Wednesday into Thursday. The National Hurricane Center said the atmospheric pressure in Milton’s eye plunged to an astonishing 897 millibars as of 8 p.m. Monday, making it the fifth-most intense hurricane on record. Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005, Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, the 1935 “Labor Day” Hurricane and Hurricane Rita in 2005 had lower pressure. By 11 p.m., the storm was up to 914 millibars. Here’s the forecast track for Hurricane Milton as of 11 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (National Hurricane Center/Courtesy) Hurricane Hunters reported an eyewall replacement late Monday, likely the cause of the slight decrease in Milton’s intensity. “The eyewall replacement cycle will likely lead to an expansion of the destructive inner core of the hurricane during the next day or two,” the hurricane center said. Hurricane warnings extend far inland as Milton is forecast to retain hurricane strength during its entire passage east across Central Florida and Orlando, then out into the Atlantic Ocean. South Florida is under a tropical storm watch with high winds from 58 mph to 73 mph and heavy rainfall possible despite being far from Milton’s forecast path. On the Gulf Coast, thousands of people in low-lying areas and barrier islands began evacuating Monday, clogging interstates 75 and 4. Many of them were heading for South Florida. Forecasters warned of potentially life-threatening storm surge for Tampa Bay and a large stretch of the coast from north to south. “A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida on Wednesday,” hurricane center forecasters wrote in the 5 p.m. Monday advisory. “This is an extremely life-threatening situation and residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so.” Destructive winds, possible tornadoes and widespread torrential rain are possible hundreds of miles from the center. “This is a ferocious hurricane,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday. “Anything south of the storm is going to have major storm surge, even 100 miles away.” If peak surge occurs at high tide, experts are estimating as much as 15 feet of surge in Tampa Bay and around the Anclote River to Englewood. This map shows the storm surge potential from Hurricane Milton on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The surge could exceed a foot around Tampa Bay. (National Hurricane Center) DeSantis pointed out that there was loss of life due to Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, and Milton’s surge looks to be worse. The predicted storm surge is the highest ever predicted for Tampa Bay and nearly double the levels reached two weeks ago during Helene, said National Hurricane Center spokeswoman Maria Torres. “By taking an extremely unusual track across the Gulf slightly farther south than forecast, Milton has a long runway in an atmospheric environment that is forecast to be extremely conducive to strengthening,” said Fox Weather hurricane expert Bryan Norcross. “Unless we get extremely lucky, Milton will be one of the biggest hurricane disasters in history.” Milton may encounter conditions that could cause it to weaken before its arrival in Florida, but the forecast has it remaining at least a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. “This will produce major damage, whatever ends up happening,” DeSantis said. Many sand dunes and other natural protection were destroyed less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene. “That means storm surge impacts from Milton could be even more significant,” said AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jon Porter. The hurricane center issued a multitude of watches and warnings Monday evening, including some for South Florida. A hurricane warning has been issued for the west coast of Florida from Bonita Beach north to the mouth of the Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay. A tropical storm warning has been issued for the west coast of Florida south of Bonita Beach to Flamingo, including Lake Okeechobee. There is a tropical storm warning for the Florida Keys, including the Dry Tortugas. A tropical storm watch stretches from Miami-Dade to Port St. Lucie, and another for the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. There is a hurricane watch from the St. Lucie/Indian River County Line northward to the mouth of the St. Marys River in Georgia. A storm surge watch has been issued for the U.S. East Coast from Sebastian Inlet to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, including the St. Johns River. Seeking sandbags ahead of Hurricane Milton? Here’s where to get them in South Florida The storm surge warning for the west coast also extends from Flamingo north to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. Milton’s wind field will expand over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm and deep waters and its impacts are likely to begin in Florida much earlier than landfall. South Florida likely will experience tropical-storm-force winds by Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. “The entire corridor from Tampa to Orlando and Daytona Beach needs to prepare for widespread and long-lasting power outages, infrastructure damage, and cell phone signal issues,” Porter said. “Flash flooding will be a major issue across Florida. The sandy soil can absorb a lot of rainfall, but rainfall rates of 2, 3 or even 4 inches an hour will be too much to handle, especially for drainage systems in urban areas.” South Floridians brace for flooding with Hurricane Milton on way DeSantis said that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it’s clear that Florida is going to be hit hard: “I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point.” The state’s Director of Emergency Management, Kevin Guthrie, said the state is preparing for the largest hurricane evacuation since 2017, when Hurricane Irma cut through the entire length of the Florida peninsula from the Keys to Georgia. “Please, if you’re in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate,” said Guthrie. “If they have called your evacuation order, I beg you, I implore you, to evacuate. Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave. We had situations where people died drowning in Hurricane Ian. Had they just gone across the bridge, from Estero Bay and Sanibel island … they’d still be alive today.” It’s the “black swan” worst case scenario that MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel and other hurricane experts have worried about for years. Part of it is that for some reason — experts say it’s mostly luck with a bit of geography — Tampa hasn’t been hit with a major hurricane since the deadly 1921 hurricane that had 11 feet of storm surge that inundated downtown Tampa, though there wasn’t much to the city at the time, Emanuel said. Since then, a metropolis has grown and it’s full of people who think they’ve lived through big storms when they haven’t, he said. “It’s a huge population. It’s very exposed, very inexperienced and that’s a losing proposition,” Emanuel, who has studied hurricanes for 40 years, said. “I always thought Tampa would be the city to worry about most.” Guthrie said that if you  need assistance evacuating, you can call the state’s hotline: 800-729-3413. There’s also a website, fl511.com, for with emergency evacuation information. State officials said that Visit Florida has emergency accommodation modules on Expedia, Priceline and Booking.com for real-time hotel availability. Uber will also be offering free rides to shelters, as they did during Hurricane Helene. DeSantis said the the state would be issuing a code for Uber shortly. South Florida acts as landing spot for Hurricane Milton evacuees from the Gulf Coast DeSantis warned that hurricane-force winds will penetrate far inland. “You’re going to have hurricane winds, potentially category 3, but certainly 1 or 2, all the way through the Florida peninsula,” he said. The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and electric vehicle charging stations along evacuation routes, and “identified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes,” Guthrie said. People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who don’t depend on constant electricity and who aren’t in evacuation zones, should probably avoid the roads, he said. DeSantis stated that crews readying to mobilize for power restoration, and that Milton may cause outages greater than those brought by Hurricane Helene. There is a “massive amount of resources being marshalled,” he added. On Monday, the Biden administration approved an Emergency Declaration for Florida, allowing federal disaster assistance for the state through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There had been media rumors that DeSantis “declined a call” with Vice President Kamala Harris. DeSantis said that was not true, and that at the time, he didn’t know she had called. He said President Joe Biden has approved everything Florida has asked for. The president and the governor spoke Monday night, the White House said. Milton is expected to bring rain totals of 5 to 8 inches, with localized areas seeing potentially up to 12 inches, across portions of the Florida peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night. That will come on top of moisture ahead of the hurricane that is already saturating the state. “If the center of Milton tracks just to the north of Tampa Bay, the scope of potential storm surge is impossible to imagine,” Norcross wrote on his blog, Hurricane Intel. “Think of of Helene’s surge and add another few feet.” A flood watch is in effect for all of South Florida lasting into Thursday morning, though all three counties were not in the forecast cone Monday night. Broward and Palm Beach county schools will be open Tuesday, but close Wednesday and Thursday, the districts announced on Monday afternoon. Broward and Palm Beach schools to open Tuesday, but close Wednesday and Thursday Since many of the counties under the Milton state of emergency are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, DeSantis asked the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Transportation to coordinate all available resources and personnel to supplement local communities as they expedite debris removal. As many as 5,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove the tons of debris left behind by Helene, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene’s aftermath return to the state to prepare for Milton. With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, said Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach. There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September. On Monday, the hurricane center said Milton is the third fastest-strengthening hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. It grew from a Category 2 on Monday morning to Category 5 by noon. Only Wilma (2005) and Felix (2007) intensified faster. Also, it grew from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane within the span of 36 hours. Rapid intensification is fueled by hot sea surface temperatures, lack of wind shear as well as the storm’s clean vertical posture. Storms with smaller diameters can more easily ramp up as well. Hurricane Milton: What’s open, closed, canceled and postponed in South Florida Other tropical systems On Monday, a disturbance formed over the Bahamas and has 20% chance of developing in the next 7 days. It is expected to travel northeast, away from Florida. Far in the Atlantic, Hurricane Leslie’s track should keep it away from land, and Kirk has become a powerful extratropical cyclone with a tracked aimed at Spain and France. Leslie, located 1,285 miles west-northwest of Africa’s southernmost Cabo Verde Islands, had a maximum sustained wind speed of 75 mph and was moving northwest at 14 mph as of 11 p.m. Monday. Leslie may begin weakening sometime in the next day or so. In addition, the National Hurricane Center is watching a tropical wave that is expected to move off the west coast of Africa in a few days, although the chance of development is low, with a 20% chance through the next seven days. The next named storm will be Nadine. Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.