U.S. Air Force hurricane hunters have confirmed that Milton has rapidly intensified into a hurricane as it moves toward Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Hurricane Milton was centered about 815 miles (1,310 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kmh), the center said.
鈥淭here is increasing confidence that a powerful hurricane with life-threatening hazards will be affecting portions of the Florida west coast around the middle of this week,鈥� senior hurricane specialist Eric Blake advised on Sunday morning.
While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to 230 people.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it鈥檚 clear that Florida is going to be hit hard 鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any scenario where we don鈥檛 have major impacts at this point.鈥�
鈥淵ou have time to prepare 鈥� all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,鈥� the governor said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you鈥檒l be asked to leave.鈥�
The St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful storm surge. Twelve people perished as Helene swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands that stretch from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.
DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 counties, and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week鈥檚 worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, coordinated with the governor and briefed President Joe Biden Sunday on how it has staged lifesaving resources.
鈥淚 highly encourage you to evacuate鈥� if you鈥檙e in an evacuation zone, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. 鈥淲e are preparing 鈥� for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma. 鈥�
The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and EV charging stations along evacuation routes, and 鈥渋dentified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes,鈥� Guthrie said. People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who don鈥檛 depend on constant electricity and who aren鈥檛 in evacuation zones, should probably avoid the roads, he said.
All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg鈥檚 Pinellas County preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached, and the Tampa opened city garages for free so people could park their cars safe from the next floodwaters.
As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove debris, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene鈥檚 aftermath return to the state to prepare for Milton.
鈥淎ll available state assets 鈥� are being marshaled to help remove debris,鈥� DeSantis said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going 24-7 鈥� it鈥檚 all hands on deck.鈥�
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency鈥檚 response to Hurricane鈥檚 destruction after Republicans鈥� false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities.
鈥淭his kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it鈥檚 really a shame we鈥檙e putting politics ahead of helping people,鈥� Criswell told ABC鈥檚 George Stephanopoulos. It鈥檚 created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast, she said.
Despite this, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton, well before it鈥檚 clear exactly where it will move across the Florida peninsula this week. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,鈥� she said.
Tropical Storm Milton鈥檚 center was about 860 miles (1,385 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, early Sunday, heading east at 5 mph (7 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
The hurricane center said Mexico鈥檚 Yucatan peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system鈥檚 progress. Heavy rainfall was expected Sunday ahead of the storm itself, and will likely then combine with Milton鈥檚 rainfall to flood waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters said up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain could fall in places through Wednesday night.
Meanwhile in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Kirk diminished to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday, with top winds of 105 mph (165 kph), sending large swells and 鈥渓ife-threatening surf and rip current conditions鈥� to Bermuda and northward along the U.S. and Canadian coasts, the center said. Hurricane Leslie was also moving over the Atlantic Ocean, well away from land, with top winds of 85 mph (140 kph).
