Hurricane Milton has intensified even further after rapidly developing into a major Category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
This from breitbart.com.
The NHC said in an update Monday afternoon, urging residents to follow the advice of local officials:
Hurricane #Milton Advisory 10A:
Milton Explosively Intensifies With 175-Mph Winds.
Hurricane #Milton Advisory 10A: Milton Explosively Intensifies With 175-Mph Winds. Residents in Florida Are Urged to Follow the Advice of Local Officials. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 7, 2024
The update comes as 51 counties in Florida are under a state of emergency, including: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia.
Current tracks of the storm show it coming in on the west side of the state somewhere near the Tampa Bay area, and it is expected to make an exit on the east side of the state.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated:
This is the real deal here with Milton. If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.
Dementia Joe on Monday declared an emergency exists in the State of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton beginning on October 5, 2024, and continuing.
Governor Ron DeSantis said during a Monday morning update on the storm, which is triggering mass evacuations:
[Milton] is expected to make landfall
on the west coast of Florida
sometime between Wednesday evening or
perhaps even very early on Thursday.
Further, if the storm’s current pace continues:
[I]t’s going to push back when landfall will happen.
Of course, you can see impacts
prior to the eye wall making landfall.
We have made a pre-landfall
declaration request to FEMA for support …
and we anticipate positive approval on that.
