MILTON escalated from a Category 2 to a Category 4 within hours, and now has reached Category 5 status.
The National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane watches for parts of Florida, warning of life-threatening storm surge, heavy rainfall, and damaging winds. This will be a MAJOR hurricanewhen it is forecast to hit the Florida gulf coast Wednesday night.
Keep an eye on our social media pages and our #OperationStormwatch on our website for the latest updates. Here's what we have as of noon today.
Hurricane Milton Tropical Cyclone Update...Corrected
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL142024
1055 AM CDT Mon Oct 07 2024
Corrected for location/distances in the summary section
...MILTON RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES INTO A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE...
Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate
that Milton has strengthened to a category 5 hurricane. The
maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 160 mph (250 km/h) with
higher gusts. Data from the aircraft also indicate that the
minimum pressure has fallen to 925 mb (27.31 inches).
SUMMARY OF 1055 AM CDT...1555 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...21.7N 91.6W
ABOUT 125 MI...200 KM WNW OF PROGRESO MEXICO
ABOUT 715 MI...1150 KM SW OF TAMPA FLORIDA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...160 MPH...250 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...ESE OR 110 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...925 MB...27.31 INCHES