Tropical storm-force winds from Cat. 4 Milton trigger Florida tornado warnings

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Hurricane Milton's tropical storm-force winds are spreading inland with heavy rainfall and triggering tornado warnings across Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters said in an hourly update at 4 p.m. EDT.

The storm is located about 60 miles west-southwest of Sarasota and 170 miles southwest of Orlando and moving northeasterly at 17 mph with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, forecasters said during a 5 p.m. four-hour update .

Earlier Wednesday, Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 4 storm, according to forecasters who said they expected the storm to continue growing before making landfall along Florida's west-central coast and generally following the Interstate 4 corridor across the peninsula.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Florida's west coast from Bonita Beach northward to Suwannee River, including Tampa Bay, and Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line up northward to Ponte Vedra Beach.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Lake Okeechobee and Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line north to the Palm Beach/Martin county line.

A storm surge warning is in effect for the west coast of Florida from Flamingo northward to Yankeetown, Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay; and Florida's Sebastian Inlet to Altamaha Sound in Georgia, including the St. Johns River.

A tropical storm watch north of the Savannah River to Edisto Beach, S.C., is upgraded to a tropical storm warning, but the tropical storm north of Edisto Beach is discontinued.

Also discontinued are hurricane watches for the Dry Tortugas, the Florida east coast north of Ponte Vedra Beach to the mouth of the St. Marys River and for Florida's west coast from Chokoloskee to south of Bonita Beach.

On Monday, Milton's wind speeds had increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, reaching 180 mph. It's being called the third-fastest rapidly intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, according to more than 40 years of National Hurricane Center data.

Central atmospheric pressure in Milton's eye had also fallen to 897 millibars (or 26.49 inches of mercury), according to Hurricane Hunter aircraft observations, which makes it the fifth lowest central pressure in the Atlantic basin hurricane in recorded history.

"This makes Milton one of the strongest hurricanes on record in the Atlantic Basin and the second strongest in the Gulf only behind Hurricane Rita in 2005 (895mb)," meteorologist Dylan Federico of Dallas' KDFW-TV wrote in a Facebook post.

The forecasters are warning that Milton is expected to "grow considerably in size" by the time it reaches Florida.

"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," the NHC said in a discussion on the storm late Tuesday.

The storm is located in the Gulf of Mexico northeast of the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Forecasters are predicting that Milton's center will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, and then make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida either late Wednesday or early Thursday.

After landfall, it will travel off the east coast of Florida into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, the forecasters said.

Forecasters said the storm's intensity will fluctuate but it is expected to remain extremely dangerous when it passes over the Florida Peninsula.

The NHC said in a discussion that while it may experience some weakening, "it will likely not be enough to keep Milton from being an extremely dangerous hurricane when it reaches shore."

Florida's coastal residents are being warned to expect a large, destructive storm surge, devastating hurricane-force and heavy rainfall.

Forecasters predicted Tampa Bay could see a surge of between 10 and 15 feet.

Portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys are to receive between 6 and 12 inches of rain, with some areas to receive up to 18 inches, through Thursday, raising the risk of "catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the NHC said.

Milton is bearing down on Florida's west coast, which has already been hit by two hurricanes this season.

Hurricane Helene hit the coast near Perry in the Big Bend Region on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Debby struck nearby Steinhatchee as a Category 1 storm on Aug. 5.

Milton, the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, is one of three churning in the Atlantic, but is the only one posing a threat to land. The other two are: Kirk, a Category 3 storm; and Leslie, which became a hurricane late Friday.