Hurricane Milton: New Storm Surge Warnings, Latest Evacuation Orders
Hurricane Milton continues to intensify, which is resulting in some Florida residents falling under mandatory evacuation orders.
Per the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton is moving east at around 10 mph and is expected to turn and move in a northeast direction by Tuesday (October 8). Maximum sustained winds have now increased to 180 mph. Currently, the NHC describes Milton as "a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane ... forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida."
Additionally, NHC has issued a Storm Surge Warning for "the west coast of Florida from Flamingo northward to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay." NHC reports rising waters could reach the following heights in the following areas:
- Anclote River, FL to Englewood, FL...10-15 ft
- Tampa Bay...10-15 ft
- Englewood, FL to Bonita Beach, FL...6-10 ft
- Charlotte Harbor...6-10 ft
- Yankeetown, FL to Anclote River, FL...5-10 ft
- Bonita Beach, FL to Chokoloskee, FL...4-7 ft
- Suwannee River, FL to Yankeetown, FL...3-5 ft
- Chokoloskee, FL to Flamingo, FL...3-5 ft
- Flagler/Volusia County Line, FL to Altamaha Sound, GA...3-5 ft
- Sebastian Inlet, FL to Flagler/Volusia County Line, FL...2-4 ft
- Altamaha Sound, GA to Edisto Beach, SC...2-4 ft
- Dry Tortugas...2-4 ft
- St. Johns River...2-4 ft
Per Tampa Bay's ABC Action News, many mandatory evacuation orders have gone into effect for the following counties:
- Hillsborough County: Zones A, B, and all mobile/manufactured housing.
- Manatee County: Levels A, B, C, and all residents/visitors in RVs and mobile homes.
- Pasco County: Zones A, B, C, all manufactured/mobile homes, RVs and anyone in low-lying areas.
- Pinellas County: Zones A, B, C, and all mobile homes.
- Sarasota County: Levels A, B, all manufactured/mobile/boat homes. (Level C should prepare to evacuate if Milton intensifies.)
- Hernando County: All areas west of US 19, Zones A-C, coastal and low-lying areas, and manufactured homes. (Mandatory evacuation orders go into effect on Tuesday (October 8) at 8 a.m.
Per Fort Myers' NBC2, the following mandatory evacuation orders are now in place:
- Charlotte County: Red Zone-A and Orange Zone-B.
- Lee County: Zones A, B, and those living in coastal areas or flood-prone inland areas.
- Fort Myers Beach: Mandatory evacuation for the entire Island.
- Sanibel: Emergency evacuation by Tuesday (October 8) at 10 p.m.
- Collier County: Zones A and B, Marco Island and Goodland by Tuesday (October 8) by 6 a.m.
Meteorologist Denis Phillips from Tampa Bay's ABC Action News shared via Facebook, "Milton is one of the strongest hurricanes ever to form in the Gulf ... Unfortunately, no way to candy coat this. It's about as bad as it gets. The only favorable scenario is Milton SHOULD weaken due to shear before landfall. NHC has it as a Cat 3 by then."
Phillips added in a follow-up post, "Water will be the biggest threat with this storm. The wind will be weakening somewhat at landfall. The surge levels will be the worst along and just to the South of where the eye makes landfall. Most of the area will see winds of 80-95 mph with a small area near the eye actually getting the max winds."
