Milton increased to a Category 2 hurricane early Monday morning with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, and is expected to arrive near Tampa on Wednesday as at least a Category 3, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Hurricane Milton continues to rapidly intensify. The center of the hurricane was located 195 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 750 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, according to the 5:00 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
It had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph and was moving east at 8 mph. Milton is expected to reach major hurricane status in a day or two.
According to the NHC bulletin, hurricane warnings have been issued for the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestún to Cabo Catoche, and a tropical storm warning from east of Cabo Catoche to Cancún. A flood watch is in effect for South Florida through Thursday morning.
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WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES
- A Hurricane Warning is in effect for coast of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Celestun to Rio Lagartos.
- A Hurricane Watch is now in effect for the Gulf coast of Florida from Chokoloskee northward to the mouth of the Suwanee River, including Tampa Bay, and the Dry Tortuga
- A Storm Surge Watch has been issued for the Florida Gulf Coast from Flamingo northward to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.
- A Tropical Storm Watch has also been issued for the Lower, Middle, and Upper Florida Keys, including Florida Bay
While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean.
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That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida, where 25 Helene-related deaths have been reported, into the Appalachian Mountains.
Milton has already begun dumping showers and thunderstorms over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to move slowly by the NHC.
The NHC reported that the system's areas of interest are the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwest Bahamas.
Since 1850, only two storms originating in the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf have hit Florida. If Milton continues his current trajectory, it would be the third.
It's been 10 days since Helene made landfall on Sept. 26 along Florida's Big Bend coast after barreling north across the Gulf, causing a dozen deaths in Pinellas County and damaging or destroying homes and businesses throughout the Tampa Bay area peninsula. The total death toll rose Sunday to at least 230 people across six states.
