Hurricane Milton remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.
While the storm had previously weakened, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday Hurricane Milton was once again a Category 5 storm.
#Milton is the fastest Atlantic hurricane to intensify from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 Hurricane, taking just over 48 hours. This animation shows Milton as it intensified, with the heaviest rains (red) concentrated near the center. https://t.co/uXpdGH1yEd pic.twitter.com/YWwrpgQcTe
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) October 8, 2024
The storm will bring destruction to areas already reeling from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago and still recovering from Ian’s wrath two years ago.
The additional evacuation zone in the county southeast of Sarasota includes residents in any zone who live in mobile or manufactured homes. That’s about 11% of the more than 202,600 people who live in the county, according to population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Milton has become the second-strongest Gulf hurricane in recorded history after Hurricane Rita in 2005. Experts predict the storm to become even stronger as it approaches Florida, with winds at a shocking 180 mph. Heavy downpours are also expected.
The storm rapidly strengthened from Category 2 to 5 in just a few hours on Monday and by Tuesday its intensity “should be dictated by any eyewall replacement cycles, which will likely cause the system to gradually weaken but grow larger,” the NHC said.
