Hurricane Milton underwent "extreme intensification" as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center - and is now headed for Florida's west coast as a high-Category 5 storm.
As of Monday night, the storm was packing sustained winds of 155 knots, and the air pressure in the central eye plummeted to a near-record low of just 897 mb. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm could intensify even more overnight, given extra-warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Wind shear should weaken the storm on Wednesday as it tracks east, but it will likely broaden in extent and blanket a wide swathe of the state's western coastline with "extremely life-threatening" hazards.
"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," warned NHC, advising residents to heed officials' orders to evacuate. "A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. This is an extremely life-threatening situation."
Less than two weeks after experiencing record-setting storm surge from Hurricane Helene, Tampa and the Port of Tampa Bay may be right in the storm's path. At 1900 hours on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard set port condition Yankee for Tampa and nearby ports, meaning that gale force winds from the hurricane's outer bands could arrive within 24 hours. Inbound vessel transits have shut down, but the port continues to operate landside activities, and it says that it will do so as long as is safely possible. Tampa is a major fuel receiving and distribution hub for the state of Florida, and its energy terminal is essential for evacuation, response and recovery efforts.
An evacuation order is in place for the Tampa Bay region, and on Monday, the northbound highway was jammed as motorists heeded warnings and attempted to reach safer ground. "Listen, get out as quickly as you can. Do not wait," Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told reporters Monday morning.
In addition to evacuating residents, state and local officials have turned their attention to an unusual problem. The post-storm cleanup from Hurricane Helene is not yet complete, and mountains of debris remain piled at curbsides and local collection points. Those piles of broken appliances, construction materials and trash have the potential to become projectiles when Hurricane Milton arrives later this week. Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered an all-out, round-the-clock cleanup effort to get as much of the debris into landfills as possible before the next storm arrives.
On the other side of Florida, ports along the Atlantic seaboard are also in the storm's path. Though it will weaken over land, Milton will likely arrive over northeastern Florida still packing hurricane strength. In anticipation of the effects, the U.S. Coast Guard has set advance warning of closures for the ports of Charleston, Savannah, Brunswick, Jacksonville and Port Canaveral, along with smaller harbors in between.
