Milton Regains Category 5 Strength as It Plows Toward Tampa

 

Milton Regains Category 5 Strength as It Plows Toward Tampa

The storm’s winds climbed back to 165 miles per hour after weakening slightly for several hours. Gas pumps across Florida ran low as fleeing residents jammed highways.

 

Hurricane Milton as of 9 p.m. Eastern ›

Category

5

Wind speed

165 m.p.h.

Max. sustained

Location

SW of Tampa, Fla.

440 miles away

Direction

ENE

at 10 m.p.h.

 

Patricia MazzeiJacey Fortin and Judson JonesPatricia Mazzei reported from St. Petersburg, Fla.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/10/08/weather/hurricane-milton-florida

 

Officials warn residents to ‘get out now.’ Here’s the latest.

Storm-weary residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast jammed roads and stewed in gas lines on Tuesday evening as they fled for safer ground ahead of Hurricane Milton. The Category 5 storm, with winds of 165 miles per hour, has prompted one of the largest evacuations in Florida history.

 

Tampa Bay braced for what could be its first direct hit from a major storm in more than a century as Milton barreled toward the region. “If you’re going to get out,” Gov. Ron DeSantis warned residents at a news conference, “get out now.”

 

Here’s what we’re covering:

 

Where it’s going: Milton, the strongest storm in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005, was expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. The National Hurricane Center said on Tuesday night that the storm was likely to fluctuate in intensity as it moved across the eastern Gulf. “We still can’t pinpoint an exact landfall location,” forecasters said earlier. Track the storm’s forecast.

 

Evacuation orders: More than 5.5 million people were affected by mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders as of Tuesday, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Many more people were urged to leave their homes throughout the day. Here’s a list of evacuation orders.

 

Dangerous debris: The destruction left over from Hurricane Helene’s landfall less than two weeks ago in Florida has complicated preparation efforts for Milton. Officials have been scrambling to clear the debris to prevent it from causing more damage, and possibly becoming projectiles, in Milton’s powerful winds.

 

Emergency aid: Governor DeSantis said he had spoken with President Biden about the state’s needs. “Everything that we’ve asked for, the administration has approved,” he said. About 8,000 National Guard members will be activated, Mr. DeSantis added, calling it likely the largest mobilization in state history ahead of a storm. Here’s how you can prepare for a hurricane and evacuations.