Milton forecast to strike Manatee as major hurricane with higher storm surge than Helene

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UPDATE: Manatee County is continuing to prepare for Hurricane Milton’s landfall . See Tuesday’s live updates here .

Manatee County is preparing for a potential direct hit from Hurricane Milton, which is forecast to make landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 storm.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts severe impacts for the Bradenton area, including 10 to 15 feet of life-threatening storm surge. That’s higher than Hurricane Helene’s storm surge of over 6 feet, which broke local records and devastated coastal Manatee County .

Evacuation orders have been issued for residents in the county’s Level A, Level B and Level C zones and anyone staying in an RV or mobile home.

Milton’s other impacts forecast for Manatee County include hurricane-force winds of over 110 mph and potential for major flooding rain and some tornadoes.

“We have multiple life-threatening hazards that are going to play out in Florida over the next several days,” NHC Director Michael Brennan said in an 11 a.m. update. “If you’ve been asked to leave by your local officials, please do so as soon as you can and get to a safe place.”

Brennan said residents should be in a safe place by nightfall on Tuesday.

“Remember, you don’t have to drive hundreds of miles to get out of the storm surge zone. Often you only have drive tens of miles to get to a shelter (or) a safe place to stay with a friend or relative to ride out the storm.”

Serious impacts are expected to reach Florida by late Tuesday night and continue into Wednesday.

Hurricane Milton reaches Category 5 strength

Hurricane Milton rapidly strengthened from a Category 3 to a Category 5 storm on Monday morning, the NHC said. As of 10 p.m., the storm was about 630 miles southwest of Tampa in the Gulf of Mexico with winds of 165 mph.

Milton is expected to downgrade to Category 3 before landfall. But forecasters warn that it will bring extreme threats to Florida’s coast regardless of its category.

Watches and warnings for Manatee County

As of 11 p.m. Monday, the following watches and warnings are in effect for Manatee County, according to the NHC and the National Weather Service:

HURRICANE WARNING: A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. A warning is typically issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.

STORM SURGE WARNING: A Storm Surge Warning means there is a danger of life-threatening surge from rising water moving inland from the coastline during the next 36 hours.

FLOOD WATCH: A Flood Watch indicates that current or developing conditions are favorable for flooding. An additional 4-8 inches of rainfall is forecast for Bradenton and Anna Maria Island, with locally higher amounts, according to NWS.

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