Milton is currently off the coast of Mexico.
Residents of Florida were warned on Sunday that Tropical Storm Milton could rapidly strengthen into a powerful hurricane and hit areas along the Gulf Coast mid-next week, areas that were recently devastated by Hurricane Helene, according to the Associated Press.
Milton is presently situated near Mexico’s coastline and is moving slowly. However, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami stated that it is expected to intensify quickly.
While weather models show varying predictions, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall north of Tampa Bay on Wednesday and remain a hurricane as it crosses central Florida towards the Atlantic. This would largely spare other southwestern U.S. states, where Hurricane Helene caused significant destruction. The death toll from Helene rose to 230 on Sunday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stressed on Sunday that there is likely no scenario in which Milton doesn’t impact the state significantly. He urged residents to prepare in the coming days, expecting further power outages, and to stock up on food and water for at least a week. State officials warned that evacuations could be the largest Florida has seen since 2017.
