Hurricane Milton Reaches Cat 5 Status

UPDATE 1:30 PM: Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm on Monday, threatening to bring additional storm surge and flooding later this week to a battered Florida that is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene.

The storm, which had winds estimated at about 160 miles an hour, was located in the Gulf of Mexico, more than 700 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla., as of 12 p.m. ET. Milton is forecast to weaken as it hits dry air before making landfall on Florida’s west coast as early as Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. It warned it is still expected to be a large and powerful hurricane.

After becoming a Category 1 hurricane Sunday evening, Milton quickly strengthened from a Category 2 storm as of 5 a.m. to a Category 5 storm by 12 p.m.

Hurricane, storm-surge and tropical-storm watches were issued for parts of the western coast of Florida and the Florida Keys, the hurricane center said Monday. There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds beginning as early as Tuesday night for parts of Florida’s west coast. 

Earlier story...

Florida is bracing as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 3 storm on Monday, days before it’s expected to make landfall on the state’s Gulf Coast where communities are still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene.

The state will contend with Milton even as it is clearing debris from Helene — which made landfall September 26 on Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 hurricane, killing 232 people across the Southeast and creating a 500-mile path of destruction with catastrophic flooding and damaging winds.

The storm is boasting top sustained wind speeds of 90 mph, according to the 11 p.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center. The storm was about 765 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, and moving at 7 mph.

The storm is expected to become a major hurricane Monday, reports CNN.

Miami, Orlando and Tampa are each forecast to receive four to eight inches of rain through Thursday. That would be the equivalent of an entire month’s worth of rain for Miami, two months’ worth of rain for Orlando and three months’ worth of rain for Tampa. Some areas of the state could see more than 15 inches of rainfall, according to the hurricane center.

It is expected to make landfall Wednesday evening on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a destructive and life-threatening Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds. It is forecast to strike between Cedar Key and Naples, which includes the Tampa area.