Milton regains Cat. 5 strength ahead of Wednesday night landfall in Florida

Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Hurricane Milton regained Category 5 strengthen on Tuesday, with forecasters warning it will make landfall Wednesday night along Florida's west-central coast.

In its 10 p.m. CDT Tuesday update, the National Hurricane Center said Milton was located 395 miles west-southwest of the Dry Tortugas and 405 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla.

It was carrying maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, a drop of 5 mph from three hours earlier, but was still a Category 5 hurricane. It was moving east-northeast at 12 mph.

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

A hurricane watch was in effect for Dry Tortugas and Lake Okeechobee. On Florida's west coast from Chokoloskee to south of Bonita Beach, and Florida's east coast north of Ponte Vedra Beach to the mouth of the St. Mary's River. And on Florida's east coast from the St. Lucie/Martin county line to the Palm Beach and Martin County Line.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the "extreme northwestern" Bahamas, including Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos and Bimini. And in the Florida Keys from Dry Tortugas and Florida Bay to Lake Okeechobee. On the west coast of Florida, Flamingo to south of Bonita Beach and north of Suwanee River to Indian Pass. And on the Florida east coast, south of the St. Lucie/Martin county line to Flamingo, north of Ponte Vedra Beach all the way to Altamaha Sound in Georgia.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for north of Altamaha Sound in Georgia to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

A storm surge watch was in effect for north of Altamaha Sound in Georgia to Edisto Beach in South Carolina

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

On Monday, Milton's wind speeds had increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours to 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 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.

It then dropped to a Category 4 storm before regaining Category 5 strengthen earlier 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 on Tuesday night through Wednesday, and then make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida Wednesday night.

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 an 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."

The Florida coast is 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 bears 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 hit 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 posing a threat to land. The other two are: Kirk, a Category 3 storm; and Leslie, which became a hurricane late Friday.