Ben Madilynn
Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a storm surge as high as 12 feet in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.
Milton’s maximum sustained winds quickly increased to 180 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico as the storm moved to the east about 675 miles southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Storm surge and hurricane warnings were issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast, while a tropical storm warning was issued for the Florida Keys.
Forecast models vary widely, but the most likely path would have Milton making landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remaining a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.
