Hurricane Milton growing stronger as it approaches Florida: NHC

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As forecasted, Milton has become a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center has announced.

Milton has sustained winds of 85 mph and is moving east at 7 mph, according to the NHC. That’s up from 80 mph during the NHC’s 2 p.m. ET update.

As of 5 p.m. ET Sunday, Hurricane Milton is located nearly 805 miles west-southwest of Tampa.

The NHC warned earlier in the day that Milton is expected to become “a major hurricane late Monday” and could reach Category 3 major hurricane strength as it barrels toward Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The risk for life-threatening impacts continues to increase for parts of Florida’s west coast, as the storm-force winds are extending outward up to 35 miles from the center.

Hurricane and storm surge watches for Florida are likely to be made later on Sunday, the NHC said.

WFLA’s Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli said heavy downpours will begin Sunday as the first wave of moisture reaches Florida’s coast.

“Given that the ground is saturated after one of the rainiest wet seasons on record, any downpours will lead to flooding,” Berardelli said.

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to 230 people.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it’s clear that Florida is going to be hit hard.

“You have time to prepare — all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” the governor said. “Know your evacuation zone — there will be mandatory and voluntary evacuations.”

Late Sunday morning, mandatory evacuations began in Tampa Bay.

“I highly encourage you to evacuate” if you’re in an evacuation zone, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. “We are preparing … for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma.”

DeSantis said as many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping the Florida Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Transportation to remove debris ahead of the next storm, and he declared a state of emergency in 35 counties. He said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption.

“All available state assets … are being marshaled to help remove debris,” DeSantis said. “We’re going 24-7 … it’s all hands on deck.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said her agency is preparing for Milton and working with Florida “to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall.”

Hurricane Kirk and Hurricane Leslie

The Atlantic hurricane season has become more active as rescuers in the U.S. Southeast continue to search for people unaccounted for in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which left a huge trail of death and catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian mountains.

Out in the Eastern Atlantic, Hurricanes Kirk and Leslie continue to strengthen, heading north in the open waters.

Kirk continues to accelerate northeastward, bringing life-threatening rip currents along the U.S. East Coast. While Leslie is slightly stronger Sunday morning, the hurricane is expected to gradually weaken over the next few days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.