Florida’s Gulf Coast is in the crosshairs as Hurricane Milton, now a monstrous Category 5 storm, barrels towards the region, triggering frantic evacuations and heightening fears of catastrophic destruction. Residents have one final chance to flee or prepare as the storm, packing life-threatening winds and storm surges, is expected to make landfall late Wednesday night.
With more than 1 million people under mandatory evacuation orders, the highways were gridlocked with vehicles on Tuesday, while gas stations reported fuel shortages. This hurricane arrives less than two weeks after the state was battered by Hurricane Helene, leaving the region vulnerable and recovery efforts incomplete.
Milton is currently targeting the densely populated Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to over 3 million residents. While the storm’s path could still shift, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) has classified Milton as a “catastrophic” threat, with sustained winds reaching a staggering 160 mph (260 kph), the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Conditions are forecasted to worsen as the storm approaches, with the NHC warning of a potentially deadly storm surge capable of flooding up to 10 feet (3 meters) of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Officials from President Joe Biden to Tampa’s Mayor Jane Castor have urgently pleaded with residents to heed evacuation orders or face deadly consequences.
Though Milton’s wind speeds might decrease slightly before landfall, the storm’s expanding size poses a growing threat to an even larger swath of the coastline. The NHC’s latest advisory predicts Milton will shift east-northeastward as it moves across Florida, maintaining hurricane strength and extending the danger zone to the Atlantic Coast.
The hurricane’s rapid intensification is among the fastest on record in the Atlantic, transforming from a Category 1 to a Category 5 within 24 hours. Experts, including climate scientist Daniel Gilford of Climate Central, attribute this alarming intensification to unusually warm sea surface temperatures fueled by greenhouse gas emissions.
Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for numerous coastal counties, including Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa. Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, and Lee County have also ordered evacuations for hundreds of thousands of residents. Vulnerable locations such as mobile homes, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities are also under evacuation mandates.
In Fort Myers, Jamie Watts, who lost his previous mobile home during Hurricane Ian in 2022, took no chances this time. “My wife’s happy. We’re not in that tin can,” Watts said as he and his wife sought safety in a hotel. “We stayed during Ian and literally watched my roof tear off. It put a turmoil in us. So this time I’m going to be a little safer.”
As Florida braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton, the nation watches anxiously, with experts estimating that the storm’s path could impact 2.8% of the U.S. gross domestic product. Major businesses, including airlines, energy firms, and the Universal Studios theme park, have suspended operations in anticipation of the disaster. The eyes of the world remain fixed on Florida as the storm of a generation approaches.
