() – Florida is bracing for Hurricane Milton, which rapidly intensified into a Category 1 storm on Sunday, days before making landfall on the state’s Gulf Coast, as communities continue to deal with the effects of Hurricane Helene.
As the state continues to clean up the debris left behind by Helene — which made landfall on September 26 in Florida’s Big Bend area as a Category 4 hurricane and left a 500-mile trail of destruction with catastrophic flooding and damaging winds — it will now have to face Milton.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) advisory at 2 pm ET, the hurricane has maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h. At the time, Milton was located about 1,310 kilometers west-southwest of Tampa, Florida.
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Wednesday with Category 3 strength and winds of more than 120 mph between Cedar Key and Naples, including the entire Tampa Bay area. Hurricane and storm surge watches are likely to be issued for parts of Florida’s west coast this Sunday, with dangerous storm surge in some areas just hit by Helene.
The weather forecast indicates that Miami, Orlando and Tampa would receive between 10 and 20 centimeters of rain through Thursday. That would be equivalent to an entire month of rain for Miami, two months of rain for Orlando and three months of rain for Tampa. Localities in the interior of the state could receive more than 25 centimeters of rain in total.
Milton formed in the western Gulf on Saturday morning, just hours after becoming a tropical depression, the NHC reported in a special alert. Milton, the thirteenth named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, is several weeks ahead of schedule, as it does not usually occur until October 25.
With very low vertical wind shear and incredibly warm sea surface temperatures, Milton will be able to gain strength steadily to rapidly over the next several days.
Although it’s been just over a week since Helene hit the state, Florida officials are already asking residents to prepare for another potentially deadly hurricane, as many are still in recovery mode.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency this Sunday for 51 of the state’s 67 counties, up from 35 on Saturday.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management is preparing for the largest evacuation since 2017, Director Kevin Guthrie said at a news conference with DeSantis on Sunday.
“I urge Floridians to finalize your hurricane preparations now, implement your plan. I strongly encourage you to evacuate,” Guthrie said.
That sentiment was shared by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, who at a separate news conference with state officials this Sunday told residents who choose to ignore evacuation orders that they should take steps to help authorities identify them if they perish. .
“You probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm, so people know who you are when they come to you later,” Moody said.
The Anna Maria Island Manatee County announced a mandatory evacuation order for its residents beginning Monday at noon. County officials said Sunday that they will begin evacuations for areas A and B on Monday at 2 p.m. ET. And more than 500,000 people in Pinellas County could be ordered to evacuate as early as Monday, according to officials there.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said officials plan to be “more forceful” in enforcing evacuation orders after Hurricane Helene, which killed 12 people in the county and prompted more than 1,500 calls for help after It was too late for authorities to respond.
“In the past, mandatory evacuation orders have been issued, and bars remain open, restaurants remain open, people just go about their business in stores,” he said. “That’s not going to happen this time, and we’re going to shut them down, because we can’t have the tragedy we had a week and a half ago.”
State officials also anticipate that Milton could cause widespread power outages, DeSantis said.
“This is something that could potentially cause more power outages than we just saw with Hurricane Helene,” the governor said, noting that state residents still have a couple of days to prepare. “So Floridians need to be prepared for that. Know that if you are near that cone, you should certainly prepare to have power interruptions.”
Milton could also cause a larger storm surge in the Tampa Bay area than was seen with Helene, DeSantis added, describing efforts to deploy tens of meters of flood protection systems.
The city of Fort Myers Beach warned residents to prepare and said they could pick up sandbags at City Hall. “Don’t wait until it’s too late” to evacuate, added.
“Here we go again,” said the Police Department in Naplesadding that concerns about heavy rain and flooding will increase from this Sunday until the middle of next week. Authorities urged residents not to drive on roads with water on them.
The city of Sanibel warned residents and business owners in a press release on Saturday to begin preparing for the hurricane’s impacts “as soon as possible.” Since Helene hit the city, crews have worked across the island to clear storm drains and debris and manage landfills to increase stormwater storage capacity, said the city. Sanibel officials encouraged residents to clear debris from drainage areas near their homes or businesses before any heavy rain.
DeSantis also ordered all disaster management sites to remain open 24/7 as the state races to clear debris left in Helene’s wake. State personnel and resources, including the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard, have been directed to work around the clock to assist local cleanup and debris removal efforts, which could represent a danger if Milton hits the state, DeSantis said Sunday.
“I’ve seen progress just by going around and visiting, but there are also some areas where there is a lot of debris,” the governor said. “So if you get hit by a major hurricane, what’s going to happen to that debris? “It’s going to increase the damage dramatically.”
More than 800 guardsmen are currently deployed for debris removal, but DeSantis said up to 4,000 will soon be available. Resources deployed to help with Hurricane Helene recovery in Tennessee and North Carolina have also been ordered back to Florida, DeSantis said.
US President Joe Biden was informed about Hurricane Milton, according to a statement issued this Sunday.
“As these communities prepare for possibly another catastrophic storm, and as part of my administration’s solemn obligation to support affected communities as they rebuild their lives, we will continue to work hand-in-hand with local and state leaders, regardless of the political party and no matter how long it takes,” Biden said.
Some schools in the Tampa area announced they will close their doors ahead of Milton’s arrival.
Schools in the counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco announced that they will close and cancel other activities from Monday to Wednesday as a precautionary measure. Hillsborough County Schools said the decision allows the county to convert its schools into evacuation shelters.
“Given the recent impact of Hurricane Helene, many in our community are still recovering and may find it unsafe to remain in their homes. In addition, we anticipate an influx of evacuees from coastal areas. “If you are in an evacuation zone, please consider using one of our school shelters,” the district said in a statement.
–With information from Lauren Mascarenhas and Elisa Raffa, from .
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