By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-07 23:59:13 | Updated at 2024-10-08 02:49:06
2 hours ago
Hurricane Milton surged on Monday into a monster Category 5 storm with 180mph (290km/h) winds in the Gulf of Mexico, and is forecast to remain a dangerous major hurricane ahead of landfall on Florida’s Gulf coast.
“Milton is a potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,” the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) alerted in an advisory, noting it had “explosively” intensified. “While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida.”
Sitting amid the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and low wind shear, Milton was located 700 miles (1,126km) southwest of Tampa and 105 miles west-northwest of Progresso, Mexico, moving east at 9mph (14.4km/h) north of the Yucatan peninsula.
“All folks on the west coast of the Florida peninsula should be prepared for potential major impacts,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He warned that the storm has been exceeding the predictions so far and told residents to stay vigilant.
The Tampa Bay region has not endured a head-on hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida towards the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 per cent of the time.”
