Hurricane Milton could bring life-threatening surge, winds to Florida Gulf Coast | CNN (2024)

Milton will grow in size and expand its life-threatening impacts over a larger area as it hits Florida.

This threat is reflected in the tropical alerts in effect over Florida. Hurricane watches extend well inland over much of the Peninsula and almost reach the Atlantic coast. Hurricane-force winds could begin within 48 hours where these alerts are active.

Alerts for Milton in Florida as of Monday afternoon.

Milton’s most dangerous inland threats will be damaging wind gusts, flooding rainfall and tornadoes.

“Prepare for strong tropical storm and/or hurricane-force wind gusts” with “a few tornadoes possible” on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, warned Monday.

There are “less than 48 hours before conditions become too dangerous for storm preps,” the service stressed.

Hurricane-force winds may batter interior areas for a time before Milton starts to deteriorate over land. Even then, tropical storm-force winds will roar over the state.

The Orlando area could record wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph Wednesday night. Wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph are also possible as far east as Daytona Beach to south of the Space Coast.

The combination of strong winds and heavy rain could bring down trees and power lines and cause considerable outages, including in some areas where it was just restored after Helene.

A member of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force searches a flood-damaged property with a search canine in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River on October 4 in Asheville, North Carolina.

Authorities in Asheville have located over 85% of the people reported missing after Helene forged a path of destruction through the city, police said. Within the city limits of Asheville, authorities have recovered nine deceased persons. Countywide, 72 people have been reported dead.

According to Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb, crews have located 336 of the 394 people who had been reported missing.

“We are actively working 60 cases of people that are missing and not heard from,” Lambsaid Monday.

Over the weekend, Lamb said, crews performed five rescues from missing persons and welfare checks, including an older woman who was trapped in her home by fallen trees who did not have the oxygen she needed and a man who had broken his leg and was trapped in his property without mobile phone service.

Asheville currently has a curfew from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., according to Lamb, but as power and water is restored and businesses reopen authorities will reevaluate.

Volunteers from the city of Miami fill sandbags to help residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Milton in Miami on October 7.

Hurricane Milton isn’tforecastto trackdirectly overMiami-Dade County. But officials in the densely populated county that’s just barely above sea levelare already giving out sandbags and asking some residents to evacuate because Milton will still impact the area.

“We know that storms are unpredictable,” Miami-Dade County Chief of Public Safety James Reyes said Monday. “And while we often focus on thecone of concern, the outer bands carry damaging winds and bring large amounts of rain.”

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has signed a local state of emergency.

“The likely impacts to Miami-Dade County include substanalized rain, localized flooding, and the possibility of sustained tropical-storm-force winds starting as early as tomorrow night,” Levine Cava said Monday.

Much of Miami-Dade County, home to 2.7 million people, isless than 10 feet above sea level.

The county has distributed more than 5,000 sandbags to residents and will continuegiving away sandbags at local parksuntil they run out, the mayor said.

She also urged some residents to evacuate.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are announcing a voluntary evacuation of mobile home parks and medically vulnerable residents,” Levine Cava said.“We are standing up evacuation centers and also working with our hospitals for the medically vulnerable.”

Hurricane Milton’s strength is eye-popping. With sustained winds of 175 mph, it’s the strongest storm to occur anywhere on the planet this year.

Milton is also the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since 2019’s Dorian, which had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.

The hurricane is one of the 10-strongest hurricanes on record for the Atlantic. It’s tied for ninth-strongest with several other storms including 2005’s Katrina and 2017’s Maria.

The Atlantic’s strongest-ever hurricane was 1980’s Allen which had maximum sustained winds of 190 mph.

Hurricane Hunters flying through Milton to take invaluable measurements observed something shocking this afternoon: flocks of birds flying in the storm’s eye.

It’s not the first time birds have been seen in the eye of a storm, according to NOAA. The eye of the hurricane is a calm refuge from the storm’s 175 mph winds raging in the wall of strongest winds surrounding the eye. Winds in the eye usually stay at or below 15 mph, according to NOAA.

Orlando is working to lower lake levels and clear debris in the area in anticipation of Hurricane Milton’s landfall this week.

“We’re proactively lowering lake levels and staff is working around the clock to make sure that the debris is clear,” City Engineer Lucy Phillip said in a news conference Monday afternoon.

Mayor Buddy Dyer said the city is also closing all non-essential offices, including city hall, Wednesday and Thursday.

“As you prepare your home, please remember to secure all yard debris including branches and leaves and bundles and bags. Get them away from the curb. Get them away from storm drains. Get them away from roadways,” Dyer said.

Residential and commercial trash services and recycling will be operating normally Monday and Tuesday but suspended starting Wednesday at noon, the mayor said.

Manatee County in Florida is expanding evacuation zones ahead of Hurricane Milton, officials announced Monday.

Along with Levels A and B, Level C will also be under an evacuation order beginning Monday afternoon, Matt Myers, Manatee County’s emergency management chief, said.

The county will open eight shelters, including several local schools, to accommodate evacuees and transportation will be offered from area islands to shelters every hour beginning at 2 p.m.

“Evacuate. Don’t wait, do it now. We’re taking Milton very seriously,” Myers said.

“This storm … looks like it could be a lot worse than Helene,” Florida State Senator Jim Boyd reiterated. “Get out if you’re in an evacuation zone, don’t take chances. There’s no tomorrow if you are caught in the midst of this storm.”

The storm has a potential surge of eight to 12 feet along coastal areas of the county, Jodie Fiske, director of public safety, said.

During the storm, potable water service to island cities will be shut off beginning Tuesday, government office will be closed Tuesday through Friday and all parks will be closed until further notice, Fisk said.

Her advice to people who are not in a flood zone or are not familiar with a storm of this caliber: “You run from the water, you hide from the wind,” Fisk said. “Just be safe, above all else, just be safe.”

Sam Grande carries his belongings as he prepares to evacuate his home before the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Monday.

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Tolls on 24 highways in 13 Florida counties are being suspended for a week to assist people who are evacuating ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

“Suspending tolls across the central and west part of the state and Alligator Alley offers an additional option for families to easily get out of the storm’s direct path,” Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue said in a statement Monday.

Tolls are suspended for the following roadways:

Collier and Broward Counties

Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties

Osceola, Orange, Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Polk Counties

Milton is a powerful, but relatively compact storm tracking over the southern Gulf of Mexico.

The hurricane developed an eye that could be seen from space today – the mark of an incredibly strong storm.

Its moisture is fostering stormy weather over parts of Mexico and a large portion of the Gulf while its center moves east, ready to track parallel to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

Category 5 Hurricane Milton churns in the Gulf of Mexico early Monday afternoon.

The crew on the International Space Station also got a good look at Milton today.

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International Space Station passes over Hurricane Milton

00:55 - Source: CNN

Milton continues to strengthen, with the monster Category 5 hurricane winds increasing by 15 mph to 175 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm’s winds have increased 85 mph on Monday alone.

Orlando International Airport will close Wednesday morning as inland Florida communities prepare for Hurricane Milton, airport officials announced on X Monday.

The announcement comes only hours after Tampa International Airport said it will suspend operations and close to the public Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Milton is forecast to weaken a bit before making landfall, but it will also grow in size and expand its life-threatening impacts over a larger area as it does.

“This system is still likely to be a large and powerful hurricane at landfall in Florida, with life-threatening hazards at the coastline and well inland,” the National Hurricane Center warned Monday.

Current forecasts weaken Category 5 Milton to a Category 3 storm at the time of landfall on Wednesday night. Hurricane categories only consider wind speeds, so while a weaker storm could reduce wind damage near the core of the storm, other impacts are more locked in.

Milton will dump heavy, flooding rain on the state, spread damaging winds across Florida, create “dangerous rip currents” and create potentially record-breaking storm surge, which could be worsened by its growing size.

Surge could begin in Florida well before landfall as Milton’s size and wind field expand while it weakens.

Hurricane Katrina went through a similar process in 2005: It weakened from a Category 5 to a Category 3 at landfall but that didn’t alter its devastating surge.

Up to 12 feet of storm surge is possible from the Bonita Beach area up to nearly the Big Bend region. Several feet of surge are possible along the rest of the state’s coast.

North Carolina musicians James Taylor, Luke Combs and Eric Church along with guitarist Billy Strings will headline “Concert for Carolina” this month to raisemoney forHelene relief effort in the state,according to organizers of the event.

The concert will take placeOctober 26 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte with all proceeds going toward aid relief, organizerssaid.

“This concert took so much planning, work, and coordination from so many people. I’m so thankful to everyone who helped make this a possibility on such short notice,”Combs posted online.

Explore Ashevilleand the Tourism Development Authority have pledged $1 million as presenting sponsors, said Vic Isley, President and CEO of the organizations.

Across the state additional concerts and fundraisers have popped up, including a fundraiser to benefit theNorth Carolina Disaster Relief FundfeaturingSturgill Simpson, in Cary atKoka Booth Amphitheatreon October 21 — the night he was previously scheduled to play in Asheville before it was cancelled due to Helene damage.

There is “progress” in the recovery in western North Carolinanearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene but still no timeline for water service restoration in Asheville, the region’s largest city, Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday in a news conference.

More than 50 water systems were impaired or destroyedasthe storm’sflooding and wind knocked out power across the region. The recovery is a community-by-community process, and for Asheville, “it’s still going to be a while,” Cooper said.

“There is progress being made, but we don’t know yet,” he said, noting engineers were working to get water back on. “We don’t have a specific timeline on Asheville (or) Buncombe (County) right now.”

Further, Cooper and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell pushed back against claims FEMA – now a key federal player in preparations for Hurricane Milton – had not been helpful in the Helene recovery.

“People who are saying that are misinformed or intentionally providing misinformation,” Cooper said. Thousands of local, state, and federal officialshave beenin the area helping coordinate the recovery, and more than $31 million in aid has been distributed tosurvivors, with 1,700 people sheltered in hotel rooms.

“There’s a lot that’s happening right now to help people where they are at,” he said.

Rumors FEMA has hindered the delivery of supplies are “absolutely false” and hurt the recovery effort, Criswell said.

“Frankly, that type of rhetoric is demoralizing to our staff that have left their families to come here and help the people of North Carolina,” she said. “We will be here as long as they’re needed.”

Other rumors about FEMA’s aid program have caused people to avoid applying for assistance out of fear.

“If I can’t get them to apply, I can’t get them money and resources they are eligible for. I’ve heard rumors that if you take $750 (from FEMA) and don’t pay it back, we’re going to take your home: Absolutely false,” she said.

READ MORE: CNN fact-checks lies about the Helene response

Milton is on a collision course with Florida and the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center indicates it could come ashore in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday evening. If this track verifies, it’ll be historic.

“If the storm stays on the current track, it will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years,” the National Weather Service in Tampa warned Monday.

The only major hurricane to ever come within 50 miles of Tampa was an unnamed storm in 1921 that moved just north of the city as the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, according to data from NOAA.

A zoomed-in look at Milton's track shows it making landfall as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday evening in the Tampa Bay area.

Milton’s current track takes its center over St. Petersburg and directly through a portion of Tampa Wednesday evening. It’s still too early to say with certainty this will be exactly where Milton comes ashore. The storm could wobble north or south over the next two days.

Where Milton makes landfall will make a massive difference in terms of impact.

A direct strike on the Tampa Bay area could trigger worst-case scenario threats for the region. Historic storm surge could plunge the entirety of some low-lying areas underwater as hurricane-force winds and torrential slam the region.

If Milton makes landfall north of the region, the Tampa Bay area will still get considerable storm surge and strong winds, but may miss out on the heaviest rainfall the hurricane has to offer.

Storm surge levels would remain dangerously high with a track south of the region, but it could lower them slightly. It would also unleash higher, double-digit rainfall totals.

Despite the devastation left by Helene in western North Carolina, the local official in charge of elections in the Asheville area reassured citizens Monday that Buncombe County is prepared to move forward with voting in the 2024 election.

“Buncombe County will vote,” said Corinne Duncan, director of elections for the county. “All of our staff and board members are accounted for and, despite personal hardship, we’ve been organizing to make sure this community has a voice in choosing the people that represent us, both in good times and in tragedy.”

The county elections office doesn’t have running water, but it has power, and Duncan said the office would be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. She encouraged volunteer poll workers to contact the office.

“Our office and equipment were spared. We’re working with our emergency team and the State Board of Elections to strategize and modify plans,” Duncan said. “We are assessing what voting locations are available.”

Early voting begins in North Carolina on October 17, and absentee by mail is happening now. Absentee voting is available to any North Carolinian but must be requested by October 29.

Hurricane Milton is seen in this satellite image taken on Monday at 9:26 a.m. ET.

Hurricane Milton has strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane and now has winds of 160 mph.

The storm is in the middle of an exceptional bout of rapid intensification. It has strengthened by 70 mph since 1 a.m. CT Monday and by 95 mph in the last 24 hours.

The storm joins Hurricane Beryl as the second Category 5 hurricane of the season. Beryl maxed out as theearliest Category 5hurricane on record while in the Caribbean Sea in early July.

But Category 5’s are still exceptionally rare.

Only 40 hurricanes have gotten this powerful in the Atlantic on record, according to data fromNOAA. Before this season, only two Category 5 hurricanes roamed the basin in the 2020s: 2022’sIanand 2023’s Lee.

Remnants of a home are seen following the passage of Hurricane Helene in Lake Lure, North Carolina, on October 2.

Even as Florida braces for another major hurricane, new estimates reveal Hurricane Helene caused up to $47.5 billion in losses for property owners.

Helene, a deadly Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on September 26, caused “widespread and devastating” flooding across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, according to data analytics firm CoreLogic.

And yet many residents in Helene’s path did not have flood insurance. CoreLogic estimates Helene caused between $20 billion and $30 billion of uninsured flood losses.

That dwarfs the firm’s estimate of between$10.5 billion and $17.5 billion worth of uninsured wind and flood losses.

“A significant portion of the losses from this hurricane are likely to go uninsured, leaving the individual property owner responsible for paying for repairs,” CoreLogic wrote in anupdateon Friday.

All told, CoreLogic calculates that Hurricane Helene caused between $30.5 billion and $47.5 billion in total wind and flood losses across 16 states. The firm said it does not plan to issue another update, unless new developments warrant it.

The latest cost figures come asHurricane Milton barrels towards Florida, rapidly intensifying from a tropical storm to a dangerous Category 4 hurricane in the span of less than 20 hours.

Milton threatens to bring additional damage to the region, and further highlights the absence of flood insurance in areas that continue to face immense flooding threats.

Read the full story here.

Hurricane Milton is heading for one of Florida’s most populous metropolitan areas, one that has seen constant growth for the last several years.

The Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater metro area ranked 5th in the top 10 US metro Areas in annual population growth from 2022 to 2023, according to the US Census. Its population grewby more than 51,600 in the span of a year andby more than 167,000 people from 2020 to 2023.

Pinellas County, home to the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, is the most densely populated Florida county – with 3,425 people per square mile, according to county statistics. Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, is the state’s third-most populous county, and has seen the second-most growth of any Florida countyin a decade from 2012 to 2022, according to the US Census.

Hillsborough County is home to 1.4 million residents, and state statistics estimate more 1.5 million residents living there this year. The city of Tampa itself is home to nearly385,000 people.

Pinellas, in particular, has seen incredibly fast growth that the county’s existing infrastructure hasn’t been able to keep up with, said Jesse Keenan, a professor of sustainable real estate at Tulane University’s School of Architecture.

“The planning of these counties hasn’t kept up with the population growth,” Keenan told CNN.

Population growth has also surged in other badly hit parts of the state like Fort Myers-Cape Coral metro area, which was devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Southwest Florida’s population has exploded in part because it has been a relatively cheap place to buy a home.

But relaxed state building regulations have also contributed. In 2011, Florida’s Republican-controlled state legislature loosened decades-old state regulations meant to keep development in high-risk areas at a reasonable pace, or to discourage developers from building on low-lying wetlands, Keenan told CNN in 2022.

Maybe you’ve heard of rapid intensification, but what Milton is doing right now is so exceptional, it has smashed through another milestone: “extreme rapid intensification.”

Typical rapid intensification is a 35 mph increase in sustained winds within a 24 hour period, but “extreme rapid intensification” is reserved for storms that intensify by 58 mph in the same time period, according nonprofit research group Climate Central.

Nearly a quarter of rapidly intensifying storms hit this level, according to the group, but Milton has far and exceeded even “extreme rapid intensification.” The storm has strengthened by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, the third-fastest rate of any storm to roam the Atlantic since 1982.

Officials in Tampa, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, are racing to remove the household debris left by Helene, before those items are swept into the air by the force of Milton.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the city’s biggest concern is removing the debris before it will become “flying objects when Milton comes to visit.”

Though contractors scheduled to remove the debris in trucks never showed up, Castor said she anticipates it will be cleared by Tuesday evening.

Castor added she is confident residents have gotten the message they need to evacuate.

“The Tampa Bay region was becoming somewhat complacent but Helene really woke everyone up,” Castor said.

The FEMA Director is expected in Tampa today to survey the damage from Helene, Castor said.

Contractors for Duke Energy rebuild destroyed electrical lines in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 4.

Over a week after HurricaneHelene tore through western North Carolina, over 150,000 customers remain without power as authorities also work to find missing people, restore water and continue recovery efforts in the devastated region.

In Buncombe County, which includes Asheville and Black Mountain, nearly 43% of customers are still in the dark, along with almost 57% of customers in nearby Henderson County, according toPoweroutage.com.

The small counties of Mitchell,Yancey and Avery, heavily impacted by Helene,alsoshow high percentages of outages,with 64%, 57% and 45% of customers without power,respectively.

An extremely warm Gulf of Mexico fueling Milton’s ongoingrapid intensificationis now expected to propel the hurricane into rare territory.

Milton has sustained winds of 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. That’s just 2 mph away from a Category 5 hurricane, which the storm is now forecast to reach later today.

Previously, Milton was expected to max out as a powerful Category 4 storm but Gulf waters are acting like rocket fuel for the hurricane.

Once Milton hits Category 5, it’ll be the second Atlantic hurricane to do so this year. Beryl maxed out as theearliest Category 5hurricane on record while in the Caribbean Sea back in early July.

Only 40 hurricanes have gotten this powerful in the basin on record, according to data fromNOAA. Before this season, only two Category 5 hurricanes roamed the basin in the 2020s: 2022’sIanand 2023’s Lee.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are scheduled to evacuate Tampa on Tuesday morning, ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the team announced Monday.

The Buccaneers will moveoperations for the rest of week to New Orleans, where the team will prepare leading up to Sunday’s divisional game against the New Orleans Saints.

This comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents in the Tampa Bay Area to start preparing to leave their homes and heed evacuation orders. Milton is forecast to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as soon as Wednesday night.

A gas station pump ran out of fuel by Sunday in Tampa.

Evacuations are being ordered in counties along Florida’s west coast as Hurricane Milton continues to strengthen, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.

Charlotte County: Evacuations have been ordered for residents in the areas known as Red Zone-A and Orange Zone-B – generally those on the water along the Gulf, Charlotte Harbor and the Myakka and Peace rivers, and immediately inland, a county map shows.

Citrus County: Beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday, residents in any structure incapable of withstanding 110 mph winds will be under a mandatory evacuation order, the sheriff’s office said. That includes campers, tents, mobile homes and manufactured homes.

Glades County: A voluntary evacuation order will begin Tuesday at 1 p.m. for residents in mobile homes, RVs and low-lying areas.

Hernando County: Mandatory evacuations have been issued starting on Tuesday at 8 a.m. for all areas west of US Highway 19, which includes Zones A, B and C — as well as residents living in coastal and low-lying areas and manufactured homes across the county. A shelter will open at the Challenger K-8 School at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Hillsborough County: A mandatory evacuation order began at 2:30 p.m. Monday for all residents in Zones A and B, according to the county, which encompasses the city of Tampa. The orders also apply to residents in mobile and manufactured homes.

Lee County: Residents in Zones A and B are under evacuation orders that went into effect at noon Monday, officials said. The residents of Sanibel, on a barrier island along Florida’s west coast, face a mandatory evacuation order starting Tuesday night, city officials said. Residents must be off the island by 10 p.m. Tuesday as first responders will likely have to discontinue service when severe winds kick in, officials said Monday.

Manatee County: Evacuation orders went into effect at 2 p.m. Monday for residents in zones known as Level A, Level B and Level C. The evacuation order also includes people who live in mobile homes or RVs.

Okeechobee County: A voluntary evacuation order will go into effect for resident in low-lying areas and mobile homes on Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Pasco County: A mandatory evacuation order went into effect at 10 a.m. for residents in Zones A and B – again, generally those on the water or nearby – as well as everyone in manufactured homes, mobile homes, RVs and residents in low-lying, flood-prone areas. A voluntary evacuation order is also in effect in Pasco County for people in Zone C, people with a designated “Special Needs Resident,” and anyone who “would be vulnerable in the event of a power loss.”

Pinellas County: A mandatory evacuation order went into effect Sunday for residential health care facilities in Zones A, B and C.

Sarasota County: Residents in Levels A and B are being directed to evacuate, while those in Level C “should be prepared” to do so if Milton intensifies. Residents planning to leave the area should do so today, the county said. “If you wait, you will get stuck in traffic.”

Facing a barrage of misinformation about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, residents in Hillsborough County, Florida, are being reassured they will not be forgotten as Hurricane Milton approaches.

People in two of Hillsborough County’s five evacuations zones are being told to leave and the fire chief is begging affected residents to pack up now.

“If you remain there, you could die,” Jason Dougherty said in a news conference Monday. “My men and women could die trying to rescue you. They are heroes, but please do not put them in that situation.”

Milton is already the third-fastest rapidly intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, according to more than 40 years of data from the National Hurricane Center.

Milton’s wind speeds have increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.

The storm has nearly tripled the rapid intensification criteria of a35 mph increase in wind speeds in 24 hours or less. Milton has rapidly intensified faster than any other storm in the Gulf of Mexico,but this level of explosive strengthening is not without precedent in the Atlantic.Only two hurricanes strengthened more than Milton in a 24-hour period: 2005’s Wilma and 2007’s Felix.

Hurricane Wilma holds the rapid intensification record for the Atlantic dating to 1982, NOAA’s John Kaplan told CNN last year. Wilma’s sustained winds increased by a staggering 110 mph in a 24-hour period while it moved over the western Caribbean Sea in October of 2005.

In 2007, Hurricane Felix rapidly intensified by 100 mph in 24 hours in the Caribbean.

Milton is the 13th named storm to form and the seventh to rapidly intensify in the Atlantic basin this season. Rapid intensification is becoming more likely as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution and bodies of water get warmer and retain heat.

CNN’s Eric Zerkel contributed to this report.

The residents of Sanibel, on a barrier island along Florida’s west coast, face a mandatory evacuation order starting Tuesday night as Hurricane Milton approaches, city officials said.

Residents must be off the island by 10 p.m. Tuesday as first responders will likely have to discontinue service when severe winds kick in, officials said Monday. Anyone who stays should email their address and the names of everyone staying with them to city police.

Sanibel was isolated by Hurricane Ian in 2022, when the only access point to Florida’s mainland was ripped away by the storm.

Now, residents working to clean up from Hurricane Helene, which hit late last month, have to pivot to preparing for Milton. With schools closed, free child care is available Monday so families can fortify their properties and plan to get out, officials said.

WHAT HAPPENED IN 2022’s IAN:Hurricane-ravaged Sanibel Island ‘is cut off from the world’

Tampa International Airport will suspend all commercial and cargo operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton, the airport said Monday.

The airport will remain closed to the public until it can assess any damage after the storm, it said in a news release.

“Travelers are urged to heed emergency management advisories and pay close attention to public safety alerts,” the airport said.

After the airport reopens, “Please contact your airline for the latest flight information,” the airport said. “TPA will announce if flight operations are affected by the storm, but airlines are responsible for their schedules.”

The Tampa Bay Area has not seen a major hurricane — Category 3 or higher — strike within 50 miles of the city of Tampa in more than 100 years. Hurricane Milton is looking to break the streak, as it threatens to bring in record-breaking storm surge and become a historic storm to hit Tampa Bay.

The last time a major hurricane hit Tampa Bay was October 25, 1921. The hurricane made landfall in Tarpon Springs and brought in a storm surge of up to 11 feet, killing eight people and destroying a significant number of buildings and infrastructure along the coast.

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Archival 1921 Tampa area hurricane

03:22 - Source: CNN

Much like Hurricane Milton exploded in strength to a Category 4 storm Monday morning, the 1921 Tarpon Springs hurricane also rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm before weakening to a Category 3 as it made landfall. Areas in downtown Tampa and Tarpon Springs experienced the most intense flooding from storm surge.

The aftermath of the 1921 storm was devastating for communities across the Bay Area. Roofs were badly damaged, while windows were blown out of structures. Downed power poles and trees and scattered debris blocked roads, which hindered recovery efforts. The hurricane also destroyed crop fields, as the storm surge caused saltwater to infiltrate the soils, preventing crops from being able to grow for upcoming seasons.

As Florida braces for Milton, Florida emergency management officials are anticipating an exodus larger than the state has seen in seven years, when Hurricane Irma swept the state in 2017.

In that storm, evacuations were ordered for 54 of the state’s 67 counties, causing interstates to back up and some gas stations to run out of fuel as huge swaths of the state fled Irma’s path. About 6.5 million people evacuated,according to a FEMA estimate.

By contrast, just five counties so far ordered evacuations ahead of Hurricane Milton, which are collectively home to about 3.5 million people, though Gov. Ron DeSantis in a news conference Monday said he anticipated a “flurry” of orders throughout the day Monday. Evacuation orders generally apply to residents along the coast and in low-lying, flood prone areas.

DeSantis urged residents to heed those orders, stressing they did not have to go far to find refuge.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a presser about Hurricane Milton in Tallahassee, Florida, on Monday, October 7.

As Hurricane Milton barrels through the Gulf of Mexico, Gov. Ron DeSantis encouraged people on the western coast of Florida to start preparing to leave their homes.

“All these barrier islands, all these areas that would be susceptible to this storm surge that’s up and down the west coast of Florida, you should assume that there’s going to be some form of evacuation that’s going to be issued by your county officials,” DeSantis said in a news conference Monday morning. “That is going to happen when you have the potential for storm surge of this magnitude.”

“You have time to execute your plan, but you’ve got to do it now,” said DeSantis.

Wet weather tapping into the hurricane’s tropical moisture is already soaking the state before Milton’s heaviest rain, increasing the threat of dangerous flooding when the storm’s rain arrives Tuesday night.

Drenching showers and thunderstorms have dropped at least an inch of rain over much of the Florida Peninsula since Sunday morning. Totals have climbed higher for parts of South Florida with 2 to 4 inches in multiple locations. Rain is expected to continue through much of today, especially in South Florida.

Milton could drop widespread totals of 5 to 10 inches over the Florida Peninsula through the end of the week. Some areas near and north of where Milton ultimately tracks could record up to 15 inches of rain.

Totals could be slightly lower for parts of South Florida, but drenching rain early this week will still raise flood concerns. A level 2 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall is in place Tuesday for much of the Peninsula – including Miami, Orlando and Tampa – according to the Weather Prediction Center.

The risk ratchets up Wednesday with a large portion of the state and southeastern Georgia under a level 3 of 4 risk of flooding rainfall.

Very heavy rainfall ahead of Helene set up parts of the southern Appalachians for catastrophic flooding once the storm arrived.

Milton is exploding in strength and is now a Category 4 hurricane packing sustained winds of 150 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center.

That’s an increase of 25 mph since an hour ago.

DirectorKevin Guthrie speaks during a news conference on Sunday.

With Milton approaching, theFloridaDivision ofEmergencyManagementis preparing for the largest evacuation since 2017,directorKevin Guthrie said at a news conference Sunday.

“I urge Floridians to finalize your story preparations now, enact your plan,” Guthrie said at a news conference, adding he “highly” encouraged residents to evacuate.

State authorities are anticipating Milton — currently forecast to be a major hurricane when it makes landfall alongFlorida’s west coast mid-week — could cause widespread power outages, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

“This is something that potentially would be greater power outages than what we just saw with Hurricane Helene,” DeSantis said, noting the state’s residents still have a couple of days to prepare.

Electrical crews will be staged across Florida so they can work to restore power as soon as Milton passes, DeSantis said, cautioning Floridians should not run generators in their homes if they lose power.

“That could be fatal,” the governor said.

HillsboroughCounty, which includes Tampa, will be calling for evacuations on Monday, thecounty’s sheriff told CNN’s Jessica Dean on Sunday evening.

“We’ll start issuing those mandatory evacuations,” said SheriffChad Chronister. “We want to give people at least 24 hours’ amountoftime to get to that safe area.”

Those who are looking to ride outMiltonneed to heed the advice fromofficials, Chronister warned.

“If you want togamble, there’s plentyofavenues to do that, butdon’tgamblewithyou andyourfamily’slives,” Chronister said. “Please take the necessary precautions and make sure that you relocate somewhere else.”

“We’re still recovering. We’re still healing fromHurricaneHelene,” he added. “This isn’t a time to panic, it’s just a time to get prepared.”

Attorney GeneralAshley Moody issued a stark warning to those who ignore evacuation orders.

Floridaleaders still workingtorespondtodamages from Hurricane Helene issued emphatic pleastoTampa-arearesidentsSundaytoheedevacuationorders, as HurricaneMiltonis expectedtostrengthen and hit the state’s western coast by mid-week.

“Everybodystanding up here wantstokeep you alive,” US Sen. Rick Scott said, flanked by local and federalofficials. “Nobodyup herecansaveyourlife if you putyourselfinharm’s way.”

Officials expect storm surge, other flooding and high winds that knock out power, Scott said.

With some roads still flooded from Helene,residentscanexpect a similar kindofstorm surge fromMilton– but this time with strong winds, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister warned.

“I personally have never seen that typeofdevastation, and it was just mainly water,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said. “Now, it’s goingtobe water and wind.”

The sheriff’soffice is callingin400to500 additional personneltohelp withevacuationand is placing amphibious vehicles around the countyincasewater rescues are needed, Chronister said. He urgedresidentstostock uponsupplies and make anevacuationplan now.

Tothosewhoplantostay despite evacuationorders, Attorney GeneralAshley Moody delivered this stark message:

Officials are still “uncovering folksonthe beachwhothought they could stay there, and the storm surge got them,” she said, referring to Helene’s impact.

Residentsshould also beonthe lookout for price gouging – the illegal practice charging excessive pricesonessential items during a stateofemergency – Moody said.

“We’re looking at egregious price differences between 30 daysago and right now,” she said, addingofficials have created an app residentscan use toreportcasesofprice gouging.

Many people are still without cell phone service after Helene, Moody said, advising residents to buy a small AM radio and a coupleofbatteries.

“This is old tech, and it works bestintimesofdisaster,” she said.

Miltoncould cause greaterstormsurgein the Tampa Bay area thanitsaw during Hurricane Helene, Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference Sunday, describing efforts to deployhundredsof feetoffloodprotectionsystems.

“If Tampa Bay’s on the dirty sideofthestorm,it’s likely to generatestormsurgein excessofwhat Helene did,” he said. “If thestormis further south and Tampa Bay is on the weak sideofthestorm,itmay be that thestormpulls water outofthe Tampa Bay. So there’s a wide rangeofpossibilities that can happen there.”

Nearly 400feetofprotectionsystemshave already been sent to a fire station Hillsborough County soit can continue operations. Additionally, the state is “currently coordinating another 1,800feetofflood protectionsystemsforwastewater facilities, pump stations and a hospital in both Hillsborough and Manatee Counties,” the governor said.

Residents in low-lying areaswere urged to take “appropriate precautions” and remove electric vehiclesfromareasprone tostormsurge, since fires can be caused when EVs come in contact with salt water.

Several Florida school districts have announced school closures for Monday ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Sunday.

According to DeSantis,schoolsinDeSoto, Hillsboro, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota Counties will be closed Monday, and more counties may be added to the list.

“You’re going to have potentially major power outages,” DeSantis said. “I think everybody understands this potentially could be really significantin terms of the power outages, and likely exceeding whatwe just saw for Hurricane Helene.”

DeSantis added Florida officials are coordinating 1,800 feet of flood protection systems for criticalinfrastructure throughout Hillsborough and Manatee counties. State officials are also “actively fulfilling over 3,232 separate requests for flood protection devices,” he said.

The Gulf of Mexico is record warm and acting like jet fuel for Milton since Saturday afternoon.

Milton was a tropical storm with 60 mph sustained winds on Sunday. Just 24 hours later, it’s a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph – more than doubling its strength in a single day.

Rapid intensification – when winds increase by at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less – is becoming more likely as the world warms due to fossil fuel pollution and bodies of water get warmer and retain their heat.

Water in the Gulf is warm both at and below the surface. The Gulf has been at or near record levels since at least August, according to data tracked by hurricane expert Brian McNoldy. Its heat fueled multiple periods of rapid intensification for Helene and boosted the hurricane to Category 4 status.

The storm’s small size is also playing a role.

Hurricane Milton is on a collision course with Florida’s Gulf Coast and could bring record storm surge to Tampa Bay just two weeks after Helene smashed records there and devastated the area.

The forecast storm surge into Tampa Bay from Milton is 8 to 12 feet. Even 8 feet would surpass the all-time record high water mark of 6 to 7 feet of storm surge set less than 2 weeks ago with the passage of Hurricane Helene.

The storm surge forecast hinges on where exactly Milton tracks as it makes landfall. A track through or just to the north of Tampa Bay would bring the high-end forecast to the area. A track to the south would temper some of the storm surge.

READ MORE:Why coastal communities should fear storm surge

As Milton approaches Florida, many cities in its path are still littered with debris strewn by Hurricane Helene – piles of wood, steel and other materials that could become dangerous projectiles in Milton’s powerful winds and block the paths of emergency crews.

“You get hit with a major hurricane, what’s going to happen to that debris? It’s going to increase the damage dramatically,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday.

Crews in Florida are working around the clock to remove the debris ahead of Milton’s arrival. DeSantis has ordered all disaster management sites to remain open 24/7 and has directed state agencies to assist local clean-up efforts. More than 800 National Guard personnel have also been deployed for debris removal, but DeSantis said there would soon be up to 4,000 available.

Here’s what it looks like in Milton’s path:

Tampa Bay

Damaged home items are piled along a road in Clearwater, Florida.

Tampa could receive up to three months’ worth of rain as Milton hits, and crews there are working day and night to clear debris ahead of the storm’s arrival, Mayor Jane Castor told CNN.

The sheer volume of waste to be collected means some crews in the city of Clearwater are pulling up to 12-hour days, the city’s solid waste director, Kervin St. Aimie, told CNN affiliate Spectrum Bay News 9.

Pasco County

Workers remove debris along a road in Pasco County, Florida.

Just north of Tampa in Pasco County, officials have declared a local state of emergency and issued evacuation orders for flood-prone areas and residents living in mobile homes and RVs. Officials worry that the excess debris left by Helen will make it even more difficult for rescue crews to navigate blocked roads.

“With this storm, Milton, and the storm surge we’re going to get, the debris that we still have outstanding laying on the sides of the roads are going to cause issues. Fire rescue, sheriff’s office and first responders might not be able to navigate roads to come rescue you,” county emergency management director Andy Fossa said.

Anna Maria Island

A still from video captured by resident Jose Erbella shows debris lining the streets in Anna Maria Island, Florida.

Towering walls of debris flank the streets of Anna Maria Island – about 60 miles south of Tampa – and piles of jagged drywall, appliances, dressers, mattresses and broken beams are being stuffed into dumpsters, video recorded by resident Jose Erbella shows. Bulldozers are cruising the roads to help shovel debris, Erbella said.

“We have mountains and mountains of garbage,” Erbella told CNN on Sunday. “It seems like everyone’s groundfloor is now out on the street because of the last storm.”

CNN’s Dakin Andone, Melissa Alonso and Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.

Milton continues to rapidly intensify over the Gulf of Mexico and now has sustained winds of 125 mph with higher gusts. It remains a Category 3 hurricane for now but is expected to reach Category 4 strength by this afternoon.

Milton’s winds are forecast to max out at 155 mph overnight, which is just 2 mph shy of Category 5 strength.

Milton is a Category 3 hurricane raging in the Gulf of Mexico with 120 mph sustained winds. The hurricane is located about 180 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and more than 700 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Milton will continue to strengthen early this week and likely reach at least Category 4 status. The powerful hurricane will track just north of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula through Tuesday before turning more to the northeast and heading straight for Florida.

The hurricane will likely move into an area of slightly more hostile atmospheric conditions as it nears the Florida coast Wednesday, limiting some of its strength before landfall. However, Milton will still be a very dangerous hurricane as it hits the coast late Wednesday and tracks over the Peninsula into Thursday.

Milton will unleash torrential, flooding rainfall and powerful winds over the Yucatán Peninsula early this week and similar conditions could arrive in Florida as early as Tuesday night.

Milton has exploded in strength in the Gulf of Mexico and is now a Category 3 major hurricane packing sustained winds of 120 mph with higher gusts, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane is forecast to reach at least Category 4 strength early this week as it tracks east across the Gulf toward Florida.