The Florida Peninsula is on high alert for a tropical storm with high winds and damaging winds II: Milton after Hurricane Helene is forecast to reach Category 4
Forecasters upgraded Milton from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Sunday, a day earlier than expected, and warn that it is poised to reach Category 4 strength before making landfall in Florida midweek.
The storm is about 165 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 745 miles west-southwest of Tampa. There are at least four watches and two warnings in effect, including a tropical storm watch for parts of the Florida Peninsula.
The NHC says most models agree that Milton will cross the Florida Peninsula, though people “should not focus on the exact track” because models still disagree about the exact location and timing of landfall.
Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast and wreaked a path of destruction across the southeastern U.S., the state is again on high alert for another rapidly intensifying storm.
Parts of Florida’s west coast could be in danger of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Forecasters say it could raise water levels to as high as 8 to 12 feet in coastal areas of Florida, including Tampa Bay.
If local officials tell residents in that area to evacuate, then they should do so, the NHC said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already expanded an emergency declaration to cover 51 of the state’s 67 counties and is warning people across the peninsula to prepare.
“Do not get wedded to the cone,” he tweeted on Sunday. If you live outside the forecast cone, you need to prepare for potential impacts. We recommend following all evacuation orders from your local officials.”
The Director of Florida’s Emergency Management said on Sunday that the state is preparing for the largest evacuate that they have seen in recent years, when nearly 6.8 million people leave their homes.
He told residents who don’t live in an evac zone that it might be better for them to just stay in place.
In a number of cases, residents have been ordered to evacuate in low-lying areas, mobile homes, and recreational vehicles, while in others, healthcare facilities have been ordered to leave.
Is it possible that many people are still recovering from Helene and did they use up their reserves of water, food, pet food? Do they have to buy new batteries? Have they restocked their supply kits to last each family member up to seven days?
It notes that public school districts in many counties will be closed from Monday through at least Wednesday and that Florida Gulf Coast University — near Fort Myers — will close its campus Tuesday and Wednesday, after shifting to remote operations.
Many southeastern states, including Georgia and the Carolinas, were spared from most of the impact of the storm, due to it leaving into the Atlantic Ocean.
More than 220 people were killed in one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the mainland US since 2005. Half of the victims were from North Carolina, where historic flooding destroyed entire communities.
The heat energy at the sea makes the Hurricanes stronger. It wasn’t unusual for the waters in the gulf to be warm. The storms were aided by low wind shear that might tear a storm apart before it strengthens.
And this is officially the first time three simultaneous hurricanes have been recorded in the Atlantic Ocean after September, according to storm researcher Philip Klotzbach. Hurricanes Kirk andLeslie are also making noise.
This is much larger than the threshold used. So yeah, this is definitely off the charts, and I am a Climate scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The NHC says that Hurricane Felix strengthened more rapidly than any other Hurricane.
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For the next few days, there would be no school or government facilities in the area. Counties have enforced mandatory evacuation zones, and state and local officials have profusely warned residents to follow those orders.
“You don’t have to evacuate hundreds of miles,” Gov. Ron DeSantis has said. “Every county has places within them that you can go to. Maybe it’s a friend’s house, a hotel, or a shelter.
Air travel into and around Florida is already being disrupted by Milton. The Tampa International Airport said it was pausing flights beginning Tuesday morning. The Federal Aviation Administration advised travelers to check the agency’s flight travel dashboard and airline websites after saying it was monitoring the path of the storm.
Warmer ocean temperatures can lead to heavier rainfall and more severe flooding. Storms like Hurricane Helene suck up huge amounts of moisture as they move towards land, which then falls as rain, and can cause flooding far from the coast.
There were only two hurricanes that were Category 1 at their landfall. But one was Hurricane Sandy, which caused tens of billions of dollars in damage up and down the East Coast.