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.
Milton became a hurricane this Sunday. It is expected to arrive near Tampa on Wednesday as at least a Category 3, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
As of 7:00 PM CDT, Hurricane Milton continues to rapidly intensify, the center of the hurricane was located 250 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 780 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida.
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.
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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.”
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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.”
