Category 4 Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday, bringing catastrophic flooding and life-threatening conditions less than two weeks after Helene battered the state.
Milton is projected to make landfall along the west-central Florida coast before moving over the western Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon. It will move across Florida with hurricane strength, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane center reports wind speeds of 145 mph and a potential storm surge of up to 15 feet in parts of Florida.
The storm is expected to dump 6 to 12 inches of rain onto Florida communities in its path, with some areas seeing up to 18 inches. Tornadoes are likely across central and southern Florida, the hurricane center said. Tropical storm conditions are possible along the South Carolina coast Thursday.
Milton is expected to weaken before making landfall but will still explode into Florida as a powerful and dangerous storm, the hurricane center said. Meteorologists expect the storm to be a Category 3 or 4 when it makes landfall.
“Damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge, and heavy rainfall will extend well outside the forecast cone,” the hurricane center said. “This is a very serious situation and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials.”
Ports in Palm Beach, Canaveral, Fernandina, Jacksonville, Key West, Fort Myers, Manatee, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa were closed Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Ports in Panama City and Port St. Joe were open with restrictions.
The hurricane was already impacting freight markets ahead of landfall. Shippers and carriers were avoiding the Lakeland area.
Nearly a quarter of gas stations across the state were out of gas, according to Gas Buddy, which tracks fuel availability. Over half of gas stations in St. Petersburg and Tampa were out of gas.
Officials have pleaded with residents to follow evacuation orders. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned residents on CNN they are “going to die” if they ignore evacuation warnings. The hurricane center said Milton could be one of the most destructive storms ever seen in west-central Florida.
“This is a very serious situation and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials,” the hurricane center said.
The National Weather Service in Tampa advised residents to prepare for lengthy power outages.
Over 1,700 flights were canceled Wednesday in the United States and over 500 were delayed, primarily at the Orlando, Tampa, Southwest Florida and Sarasota airports, according to Flight Aware. Airlines also halted cargo operations.