NOAA GOES satellite image of Hurricane Milton’s east side on October 7, 2024.
Source: NOAA
Milton quickly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane on its way to the Gulf of Mexico on Monday Travel to Floridathreatening dangerous storm surges in Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders and long stretches of natural gas pipelines and giving greater urgency to Hurricane Helene cleanup efforts. flooded the same stretch of coastline Less than two weeks ago.
A hurricane warning was issued for parts of the Mexican state of Yucatan, which was expected to be hit, and much of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane and storm surge watch. Lake Okeechobee in Florida, which often floods during severe storms, is also under a hurricane watch.
“This is a real deal with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference. “If you want to challenge Mother Nature, she wins 100 percent.”
Compact Milton rapidly intensified Monday and was expected to become a major hurricane over the eastern Gulf. The National Hurricane Center said maximum sustained winds were 160 mph (257 km/h). At noon Monday, the storm’s center was about 130 miles (210 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, moving east-southeast at 9 mph (15 kilometers) per hour. .
A resident of Palm Harbor, Florida, boards up his windows ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall midweek, October 6, 2024.
Brian Smith | Brian R. Smith AFP | Getty Images
Its center may make landfall on Wednesday tampa bay It will likely remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. This will largely avoid other states ravaged by Helenwhich killed at least 230 people en route from Florida to the United States Appalachian Mountains.
Forecasters warned of a possible storm surge of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and said 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain on mainland Florida and the Keys could cause flash and river flooding. 15 inches (38 cm) long.
The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its strong growth. Twelve people died, with a chain of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater hardest hit.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that Helen’s mess must be cleaned up before Milton arrives before it turns into a cannonball. More than 300 vehicles picked up rubbish on Sunday but encountered locked landfill gates as they tried to throw it away. DeSantis said state troopers used a rope tied to a pickup truck to break it open.
“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said.
“This will be a flying missile”
Lifeguards in Pinellas County, located on the Tampa Bay peninsula, removed beach chairs and other items that could fly in strong winds. Elsewhere, stoves, chairs, refrigerators and dining tables sit in piles waiting to be taken away.
On October 7, 2024, in St. Pete Beach, Florida, the United States, debris left by Hurricane Helene can be seen on the roadside before the arrival of Hurricane Milton.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
Sarah Steslicki, who lives in Bel Air Beach, said she was frustrated that more debris wasn’t collected sooner.
“They’ve racked their brains and they haven’t picked up the pieces, and now they’re scrambling to pick them up,” Steslitz said Monday morning. “If this missile had actually hit, it would have been flying. Missiles. Things float and fly in the air.”
Hillsborough County, home to the city of Tampa, ordered the area around Tampa Bay and all mobile homes and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night.
“Yes, it stinks. We know that, and then a lot of us are still recovering from Hurricane Helene,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “But if you protect your family, you can survive.”
unwilling to evacuate
Milton’s approach evoked memories of Hurricane Irma in 2017, when some 7 million people were forced to evacuate Florida and clogged highways and gas stations. some people who left Vow not to evacuate again.
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Stanhatchee, Florida, USA overnight, and Samantha Williams, the manager of Roy’s Restaurant, began cleaning work.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
By Monday morning, some Tampa-area gas stations were out of gas. DeSantis said fuel continues to arrive in Florida, where hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel have accumulated, and more is on the way.
Even though Tanya Marunchak’s Belleair Beach home was flooded by Helene with more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water, she and her husband were still unsure Monday morning. Should you evacuate? She wanted to leave, but her husband decided their three-story house was strong enough to withstand Milton’s trials.
“We lost all our cars, all our furniture; the first floor was completely destroyed,” Maruchak said. “This is the weirdest weather predicament ever.”
If residents don’t evacuate, it could put first responders in danger or make rescue impossible: “If you stay there, you could die and my men and women could die trying to rescue you,” Hill said. said Stablesboro Fire Rescue Capt. Jason Dougherty.
Why did Milton strengthen so quickly?
Milton’s winds increased to 92 mph (148 km/h) in 24 hours, second only to Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007. It’s its small size and has a “pinhole eye,” like Wilma’s, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach said.
Klotzbach said the storm may have to go through what’s called an eyewall replacement cycle, a natural process that creates a new eye that increases the size of the storm but weakens wind speeds.
Kristen Corbosiero, a hurricane scientist at the University at Albany, said the Gulf of Mexico is unusually warm right now, so “the fuel is there,” and Milton may have moved through an extra-warm eddy, pushing it further. .
The hurricane center predicts the hurricane will weaken slightly before making landfall in Florida. The last Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the continental United States was Michael in 2018.
On October 7, 2024, St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA, before the arrival of Hurricane Milton, there was a sign at the beach entrance.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
Flights canceled in Florida and Mexico
The University of Central Florida in Orlando said it would close midweek, but Walt Disney World said it was operating normally for the time being. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers plan to move the rest of the week to the New Orleans area ahead of Sunday’s NFL game against the Saints, and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Monday NHL game against the Nashville Predators has also been canceled.
All road tolls suspended in West Central Florida. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it will close after its last flight departs Tuesday, and Tampa International Airport said it plans to halt airline and cargo flights starting Tuesday morning.
All classes and school activities in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, were closed Monday through Wednesday and schools were converted into shelters. Officials in Tampa opened city garages to residents hoping to protect their cars from flooding.
Mexico’s coastal state of Yucatán canceled courses along the coast as forecasters predicted Milton would pass over the northern part of the state. Canceled flights include the most populous Gulf Coast cities such as Progreso; the capital Merida; and the Celeston Nature Reserve, famous for its flamingos.
Florida has not experienced so many storms in such a short period of time in two decades. In 2004, an unprecedented five storms hit Florida in six weeks, with three hurricanes hitting Central Florida.
While Tampa hasn’t been directly hit by a hurricane in more than a century, other areas along Florida’s Gulf Coast are recovering from such storms in the past two years. The Fort Myers region of Southwest Florida is still rebuilding after Hurricane Ian caused $112 billion in damage in 2022. Including Helen.
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