1 of 3 | Tropical Storm Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to impact Florida as a hurricane. Satellite image courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Oct. 6 (UPI) — Milton has intensified into a hurricane and Florida’s coastal residents face “life-threatening impacts,” according to the National Hurricane Center, 10 days after Helene struck the state.
Milton is expected to landfall as a major hurricane by midweek, forecasters predict.
Two hurricanes already were churning with no threat to land in the Atlantic Ocean: Kirk, a Category 3 storm, and Leslie, which became a hurricane late Friday.
Milton, the 13th named storm of the season in the Atlantic, could become a major hurricane — at least a Category 3 — late Monday, NHC said.
On the forecast track, the storm is forecast to approach Florida’s west coast by midweek and is projected to make landfall as a major hurricane.
“The NOAA Hurricane Hunter crew reported that an eyewall has formed on the last center fix, suggesting that this system is ready to intensify quickly,” NHC Forecaster Eric Blake wrote.
NHC had been tracking the disturbance in the Gulf since Friday. It became a depression Saturday morning and a tropical storm Saturday afternoon.
Most of Florida is in NHC’s forecast cone.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 51 of the state’s 67 counties, including metro areas of Tampa-St. Petersburg, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach and Orlando.
DeSantis warned at a news conference Sunday that after making landfall on Florida’s west coast, Milton could move east across Central Florida.
“You’re going to have the storm going right across, potentially I-4 or certainly in the center part of the state somehow, and that is going to cause damage,” DeSantis said.
“That’s going to generate debris, it’s going to cause potential damage to infrastructure. So just be prepared for that and do what you need to do to be able to execute your plan.”
All assets deployed to North Carolina for Helene are returning to Florida.
In the 10 a.m. CDT advisory,
As of 2 p.m. EDT Sunday, Hurricane Milton is located at 22.5°N 94.0°W moving at 6 mph with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, the NHC said.
The storm is located more than 800 miles west-southwest of Tampa, the NCH said.
Tropical storm-force winds continue to extend up to 60 miles from the center of the storm.
Interests on the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the progress of this system, according to NHC.
Swells “could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” by early next week along much of the Gulf Coast, NHC said.
Significant rain also is forecast for Florida.
Rainfall of 5 to 8 inches,