Milton regains Category 5 strength; sunny and dry days in store for North Texas

NORTH TEXAS — Dry air remains in place Wednesday keeping skies sunny and humidity low. Temperatures will warm into the mid/upper 80s for the afternoon.

There is an Air Quality Alert for the metroplex and surrounding counties on Wednesday. If you have upper respiratory issues such as asthma you will want to minimize your time outdoors.

As the stretch of dry and sunny days continues our fire threat increases.

Luckily, winds will remain light for the next few days, but please make sure to avoid any activities that may spark a fire.

Temperatures are back to the low/mid 90s this weekend for the Red River Rivalry game.

Milton has intensified back into a Category 5 hurricane with a central pressure of 905mb.

The track continues to shift slightly to the south. It is important to not just focus on the cone as that is the projected path of the eye and impacts will extend well away from the center. Milton is still expected to make landfall as a major hurricane with winds near 125 mph.  The worst storm surge will be near the eye and to the south.

If landfall occurs south of Tampa, the worst surge would be closer to Sarasota/Bradenton or even Fort Myers within the onshore flow.

We could see the surge up to 15'.

Not only will Milton bring devastating wind and storm surges, but also flooding rain in inland areas. Rainfall totals could reach 15" in some locations.

Wednesday is the last full day for residents to make their preparations. Gusty winds and heavy rain will begin around midday Wednesday with landfall expected around 1 a.m. Thursday. The First Alert Weather Team will continue to track Milton.