Hurricane Milton is now back to Category 5 strength, according to the latest 5 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Earlier today (October 8), the NHC said Milton was bumped back down to a Category 4, but the hurricane has wobbled a bit south, and winds have now increased to around 165 mph, with higher gusts. The center of Milton is still expected to make landfall on Wednesday night (October 9) and will move off Florida's east coast over the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday (October 10).
In a 5:30 p.m. update statement, the NHC noted the eye of Milton has now fallen to an estimated 905 mb (26.72 inches).
One of the biggest concerns about Milton remains to be the storm surge that comes with it. The NHC says the current storm surge warning has been extended and includes the following areas:
- Florida west coast from Flamingo northward to Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.
- Sebastian Inlet Florida to Altamaha Sound Georgia, including the St. Johns River.
The NHC notes, "The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline." 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...8-12 ft
- Charlotte Harbor...8-12 ft
- Chassahowitzka, FL to Anclote River, FL...5-10 ft
- Bonita Beach, FL to Chokoloskee, FL...5-8 ft
- Chokoloskee, FL to Flamingo, FL...3-5 ft
- Yankeetown, FL to Chassahowitzka, FL...3-5 ft
- Sebastian Inlet, FL to Altamaha Sound, GA...3-5 ft
- Altamaha Sound, GA to Edisto Beach, SC...2-4 ft
- Suwannee River, FL to Yankeetown, FL...2-4 ft
- Dry Tortugas...2-4 ft
- St. Johns River...2-4 ft
Additionally, rainfall will bring a significant increase in flash and urban flooding. NHC says, "Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday."
NBC2 meteorologist Jason Dunning shared via Facebook, "I'm very concerned about life-threatening, devastating storm surge in Southwest Florida from Hurricane Milton. With a slight southern shift in the storm’s track, peak storm surge numbers have been bumped up to 8-12 feet for Charlotte and Lee County. Storm surge for Collier County now up to 5-8 feet. Please, if your zone is ordered to evacuate, go. This is the real deal."
Meteorologist Denis Phillips from Tampa Bay's ABC Action News shared via Facebook, "As expected, because of today's 'wobble' to the Southeast, the NHC has bumped the track of Milton a bit to the South. Unfortunately, Milton is now a Cat 5 hurricane again with winds of 165 mph. The storm is an extremely dangerous hurricane that will bring catastrophic surge to the West coast of Florida. Of course, this change increases the threat of higher surge to areas from Sarasota Southward."
