Hurricane Milton Now has 175 MPH Winds

This is the most insane thing I've seen. As of the 2pm Monday update the National Hurricane Center has Milton listed as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 175 mph. A category 5 hurricane is defined as 157 mph and above. If the National Hurricane Center would ever consider a brand new "Category 6", Milton would be in line for it. But 175 mph is not the biggest we've seen in Southwest Florida.

So if you're wondering "Can this continue to grow?", the answer is yes. The current record holder is Hurricane Allen back in 1980. Allen began as an Atlantic storm that made it's way into the Caribbean. Sustained winds for Allen were listed as 190 mph as it entered the gulf. Those of us in Southwest Florida vividly remember Hurricane Wilma in 2005 whose winds topped out at 185 mph. Gilbert in 1988 and Dorian in 2019 also saw 185 mph sustained winds.

Here's the good news, and hopefully we see something similar with Milton. According to the National Weather Service "Hurricane Allen made landfall around 12:30 AM CDT August 10^th just northeast of Brownsville, TX on the south end of Padre Island with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (100 knots) and a minimum central pressure of 945 millibars." Allen lost almost half of it's punch before making landfall in Texas.

Although the 175 mph speed is eye popping, that's not the projected speed the storm is expected to have when it makes landfall. The models continue to show Milton striking the Florida West Coast near Tampa as a Category 3 hurricane. Winds of 11-130 mph. Some models even have it going a bit further to the north of Tampa, we'll need to wait and see as this develops.

Stay up to date with Hurricane Milton on our Hurricane Central Page.