Forecasters say Hurricane Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive hurricanes…
FOX Weather
Hurricane Warnings and Storm Surge Warnings are all in effect for Florida’s west coast as Hurricane Milton approaches. The National Hurricane Center warns Milton poses a “extremely serious threat” to Florida with life-threatening impacts.
Forecasters say Hurricane Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida, which includes the Tampa area, as millions of residents continue to prepare for life-threatening impacts and evacuate the coast and other low-lying areas ahead of the monster storm’s arrival on Wednesday.
On Monday, Milton strengthened into a powerful Category 5 storm with winds of 180 mph. As of early Tuesday morning, Milton had slightly weakened to Category 4 but is forecast to restrengthen and grow in size.
The National Hurricane Center said the central pressure in the eye of Hurricane Milton has fallen to a near-record low.
“It is worth emphasizing that this is a very serious situation, and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials,” the NHC warned. “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”
Milton continues to be a monster storm and near record-breaking hurricane. According to the FOX Forecast Center, the hurricane has the second-lowest pressure on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the lowest pressure in the Atlantic since 2005.
At 180 mph, Milton is the strongest Atlantic hurricane in 5 years since Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Milton is also tied for the fourth-strongest storm since record keeping began. Hurricane Allen with 190 mph winds holds the record for the strongest Atlantic hurricane.
The situation is becoming more dire in Florida, with state and local officials warning residents that the time to prepare for the life-threatening storm is running out. They say people near the coast or living in low-lying areas need to get out before the storm approaches and brings with it a potentially deadly storm surge that could reach up to 15 feet in some spots, including Tampa Bay.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis already placed 51 of the state’s 67 counties under a State of Emergency, and on Monday, President Joe Biden approved the state’s pre-landfall emergency declaration request, which now authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE…(foxweather.com)
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