As southeastern US states continue to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, Florida must now brace itself for another major tropical storm. According to the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Hurricane Milton will reach the west coast of the Florida Peninsula as soon as midweek (week of October 7).
Waves from Hurricane Helene churning offshore in St. Pete Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Hurricane Milton’s risk factor for prompting a life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds continues to increase, and such devastating effects will impact portions of the Florida Peninsula’s west coast. This is expected to begin late October 8 or early October 9.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports that sometime before Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall, Florida will experience areas of heavy rainfall on Monday (today), later on Tuesday (October 8), and Wednesday evening.
“This rainfall will bring the risk of considerable flash, urban, and areal flooding, along with the potential for moderate to major river flooding,” added the NHC in their hurricane report.
Hurricane Helene hitting St. Pete Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Additionally, parts of the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico are expected to endure tropical storm and hurricane conditions. Here, hurricane and tropical storm watches are in effect.
“Milton will also produce rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches across parts of the northern Yucatan Peninsula,” noted the NHC.
In addition to reporting what is currently known about Hurricane Milton, the NHC has also urged civilians in the Florida Peninsula to adhere to any advice given to them by local officials. They also advise residents to keep up with the latest updates regarding the storm’s forecast.
Aside from discussing the essential bits of information concerning Hurricane Milton, the same weather news source posted a bulletin notice on their website.
In this notice, the NHC stipulated that as Hurricane Milton continues to strengthen over the Southern Gulf of Mexico, storm surge, hurricane, and tropical storm watches have been issued for portions of Florida.
Areas on the Gulf Coast of Florida with a hurricane watch include Tampa Bay, the Dry Tortugas, and locations from Chokoloskee northward to the mouth of the Suwanee River.
Meanwhile, a storm surge watch has been issued from Flamingo northward to the Suwanee River, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor.
People splashed by a churning wave from Tampa Bay as Hurricane Helene passes offshore in St. Petersburg, Florida on September 26, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Other locations under a tropical storm watch include west of the Suwanee River to the Indian Pass, and south of Chokoloskee to Flamingo.
Additionally, the same watch has been issued for the Florida Keys’ lower, middle, and upper regions, which includes Florida Bay. Such watches usually mean forceful impacts are expected to hit the highlighted areas within 48 hours.
People in St. Petersburg, Florida. | Source: Getty Images
In their bulletin notice, the NHC also explained the effects of each weather-related impact caused by Hurricane Milton.
The storm surge from the hurricane is expected to raise water levels by 2 to 4 feet above ground level along the Yucatan Peninsula’s northern coast. Close to this coast, huge and destructive waves will follow the surge.
Should the peak surge occur simultaneously with the high tide, typically dry areas could be flooded by rising waters. These areas could experience floods towering as high as 12 feet.
Tampa Bay could endure 8 to 12 feet, Charlotte Harbor could face 5 to 10 feet, the area from Anclote River to Englewood could experience 8 to 12 feet, and Yankeetown to Anclote River could endure as much as 5 to 10 feet, to name a few.
Hurricane Helene hits the Gulf Coast of Florida in St. Pete Beach, Florida on September 26, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
With Hurricane Milton hot on the heels of making landfall, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 51 counties. This number was initially 35; however, due to the increasing dangers of the tropical storm, DeSantis decided to increase the county count.
A portion of the Executive Order Memorandum shared on behalf of the governor reads, “Whereas, an amendment to Executive Order 24-214 is necessary because recovery efforts and those affected by this disaster require the continued support of the State of Florida.”
“[As] Governor of Florida, I am responsible to meet the dangers presented to the State of Florida and its people by this emergency,” continues the statement.
The following counties are included under DeSantis’ state of emergency declaration: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, and Hillsborough.
Other counties are the 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.
Damaged homes affected by Hurricane Helene near Keaton Beach, Florida on October 3, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Aside from the governor’s executive order, the director of Florida’s emergency management division, Kevin Guthrie, has also warned civilians to prepare for a widescale evacuation.
Guthrie called it the “largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma.” During a recent press conference, he reiterated, “I highly encourage you to evacuate.”
Damaged homes affected by Hurricane Helene. | Source: Getty Images
One county that has already started with its evacuation plans is Pinellas County. According to Cathie Perkins, director of the county’s emergency management, Pinellas has already called for the evacuation of 6,600 patients from 6 hospitals, 44 assisted living facilities, and 25 nursing homes.
News outlet Reuters states that school has also been canceled from today (Monday) to Wednesday (October 9).
The devastating effects of Hurricane Helene in Horseshoe Beach, Florida on September 28, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
Speaking about both Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said, “We already will be rebuilding for years because of Hurricane Helene, and that will be exacerbated by the impacts of this storm.”
He further expressed, “Remember, Hurricane Helene was 100 miles (160 km) away from us, moving in a different direction. This is a powerful Cat 2 or Cat 3 hurricane headed directly for us.”
Volunteers digging through rubble after Hurricane Helene in Burnsville, North Carolina on October 5, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell recently sat down for an interview with ABC News to discuss the latest updates concerning recovery efforts after Hurricane Helene.
During the conversation, the topic of Hurricane Milton came up, and Criswell was asked if the emergency management organization was ready and if she had any advice for residents.
Deanne Criswell speaking in Valdosta, Georgia, posted on September 30, 2024 | Source: Instagram/fema
“We are absolutely ready. We had started planning for this days ago, even before it formed. We know that it’s headed straight towards Florida. I reached out to Governor DeSantis this morning, and I believe I am having a call with him shortly after this interview. We will move more resources in there to support their needs,” disclosed Criswell.
She also mentioned how they already have people in Florida who have been helping with the response and recovery efforts for the devastating impacts caused by Hurricane Helene and past storms.
“So we’re working with the State EOC to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall,” concluded Criswell.
