Hurricane Milton is beginning to hit Florida, with the full force of the historic storm set to hit Tampa Bay later tonight.
Once-in-a-century winds are starting to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast. Milton is a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph, according to a 5 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.
It is located about 300 miles off the coast of Tampa and is moving towards the city at a speed of about 14 miles per hour.
Forecasters expect Milton to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph.
The greatest danger is the wall of water, known as a storm surge, that Milton will throw up. That could cause up to 15 feet of water to flood Tampa Bay. Residents have been warned to evacuate as the city’s airport was closed yesterday.
When is Milton expected to reach Florida?
Hurricane Milton was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm as it barrels toward the west coast of Florida.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.
Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida as an “extremely dangerous hurricane” Wednesday night or early Thursday.
The latest models show Milton reaching Tampa at 1 a.m. Thursday.
Nowhere in Tampa Bay is safe from flooding, forecaster warns
Officials have warned that even inland places will experience massive flooding due to sustained rainfall of between 12 and 16 inches in the Tampa area.
The heaviest rain showers are expected to fall between 9am and 5am and could lead to catastrophic flooding.
Rainfall is expected in the south as the I-4 corridor includes Orlando, as reported by The New York Times.
Mass evacuations as Milton approaches Florida’s west coast
At least eleven counties in Florida, home to some 5.9 million people, are under mandatory evacuation orders.
The National Hurricane Center forecast that Milton, a Category 5 hurricane, would likely weaken during much of its approach but would remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Heavy cloud cover and thunderstorms in Tampa Bay as Milton approaches
A thunderstorm and dark gray clouds were seen over Tampa Bay Tuesday evening as Milton moved closer to the area.
The sun-drenched city regularly experiences storms. But its location in the Gulf of Mexico generally protects the country from hurricanes, which often form in the Atlantic Ocean.
Milton is expected to be the worst hurricane to hit Tampa since 1921. Parts of the area were flooded two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene, killing twelve local residents.
But Helene quickly moved north, where it caused the most devastation in North Carolina and Tennessee, flooding valleys and wiping entire towns off the map.
More than 230 people were killed by Helene, and the death toll is expected to rise.
Milton is expected to bring much more extreme weather, including a five-metre wall of water known as a storm surge.
Tampa Bay residents in the storm’s path have been given days to evacuate, but some have chosen to stay behind.
Tampa residents warned about flesh-eating bacteria
Florida residents have been warned to avoid Milton’s flooding where possible due to the risk of deadly flesh-eating bacteria.
The state health department says Milton’s storm surge will contain elevated levels of Vibrio bacteria.
It can infect people with open wounds, or those with compromised immune systems or liver disease.
Diabetic patients and people with cancer are also more vulnerable to Vibrio infections.
Heavy rains and flooding expected during Milton increase the concentration of Vibrio in the water.
Milton’s winds begin to hit the coasts of Florida. The eye of the storm should hit the Tampa Bay area as a Category 4 hurricane in the early hours of Thursday.
Vibrio bacteria are imaged under a microscope. The flesh-eating bacteria will be present in greater quantities in Milton’s floodwaters, health officials warn
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