Name: Hurricane Milton Classified as a Category 5 Storm Once Again
Uploaded: 2024-12-21T15:44:04.000Z
Description: Hurricane Milton is weakening slightly but remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

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Hurricane Milton is weakening slightly but remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

Follow here for the live updates:
<h2>Hurricane Milton Classified as a Category 5 Storm Once Again</h2>
Hurricane Milton is again a Category 5 storm as it barrels toward the Florida coastline, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Tuesday afternoon.

Milton had previously weakened to a Category 4 storm, but its wind speeds have increased once again past the Category 5 threshold. The storm, located about 480 miles from Tampa as of about 5 p.m. EDT, has sustained wind speeds of 165 mph, the hurricane center said.

The hurricane center also extended a storm surge and hurricane warnings on Florida and Georgia's east coasts.
<h2>The Hunt for Gasoline Is Adding to Floridians’ Anxiety as Milton Nears</h2>
Long lines and empty pumps at some Florida gas stations Tuesday compounded the stress for residents planning to either hunker down or flee as Hurricane Milton approached the state’s western coast.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference that state officials were working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline ahead of Milton’s expected landfall on Wednesday.

“We have been dispatching fuel over the past 24 hours as gas stations have run out,” DeSantis said. “So we currently have 268,000 gallons of diesel, 110,000 gallons of gasoline. Those numbers are less than what they were 24 hours ago because we’ve put a lot in, but we have an additional 1.2 million gallons of both diesel and gasoline that is currently en route to the state of Florida.”

DeSantis said there wasn’t a fuel shortage. But the hunt for gasoline was another nerve-fraying task for people preparing for a major hurricane.
<h2>Officials Say Small Plane Carrying People Trying to Evacuate Crashes Into Tampa Bay</h2>
Fire officials say four passengers aboard a small airplane were trying to evacuate from Hurricane Milton when the aircraft crashed into Tampa Bay on Tuesday morning.

Three of the four passengers on the Piper Cherokee were hospitalized after the crash near Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, said Ashlie Handy, a spokesperson for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

The passengers and one dog traveling with them were rescued from the water by a good Samaritan in a boat, Handy told The Tampa Bay Times. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
<h2>How Many People Are Affected by Mandatory Evacuation Order?</h2>
The 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders are home to about 5.9 million people, according to county-level population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Two Florida counties—Desoto and Marion—have ordered residents who live in mobile homes, RVs, modular-type homes and low-lying areas to evacuate.

About 30% of Desoto County’s roughly 34,000 residents live in mobile homes, while about 20% of Marion County’s more than 396,000 residents live in mobile homes, according to Census estimates.
<h2>President Biden says Milton ‘Could Be One of the Worst Storms in 100 Years to Hit Florida’</h2>
President Biden participated in an Oval Office briefing Tuesday with a series of top administration officials to discuss the federal government’s ongoing response to Hurricane Helene and preparations for Hurricane Milton.

The president told reporters afterward of Milton, “My priority is to increase the size and presence of our effort.”

Biden postponed a planned trip later this week to Germany and Angola because of the storm, explaining, “I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time.”

Asked about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Biden said DeSantis “has been cooperative” and “said he’s gotten all that he needs.”

Biden said he told DeSantis, “You’re doing a great job” and “we thank you for it” and said he gave DeSantis “my personal cellphone number.”
<h2>Latest National Hurricane Center Advisory on Milton</h2>
The National Hurricane Center said at 11 a.m. Tuesday that Hurricane Milton was about 520 miles southwest of Tampa. It had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and was moving in an east-northeast direction at 9 mph, the hurricane center said.

The center said a storm surge warning has been extended southward along the East Coast of Florida to Port Canaveral. The government of the Bahamas has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the extreme northwestern Bahamas, including Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos, and Bimini, the center said.

The hurricane was a Category 4 storm at late morning Tuesday, the center said.

“While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida,” it said.
<h2>Biden Postpones Trip to Germany and Angola</h2>
President Biden is postponing a planned trip to Germany and Angola to remain at the White House to monitor Hurricane Milton, which is bearing down on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the White House announced Tuesday morning.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the change was necessary “given the projected trajectory and strength” of the storm.

It wasn’t clear when the trip might be rescheduled. Biden had promised to go to Africa during his term in office, which ends in January.
<h2>Couple’s Vacation Has Turned Into Them Being Stuck in Florida as Milton Approaches</h2>
It’s easily the worst vacation John Fedor and his wife Laura have ever been on. After losing their phone on a Caribbean cruise, they missed their flight home to Philadelphia—and then missed the flight they rebooked Tuesday morning—after the bus they took to the Tampa airport was delayed.

“It’s just been utter hell,” Fedor said.

With the city’s airport closing its doors at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the Fedors are among those who are now stuck in this city ahead of a major hurricane the likes of which the Tampa Bay region hasn’t seen in a century.

“We looked into driving home, taking the train home,” he said, but nothing worked out.

“We don’t really have a whole lot of options … we’re kind of like stranded here.”
<h2>Schools in Sarasota County Will Be Closed All Week</h2>
“We will let you know—as soon as possible—about school reopening after Hurricane Milton has passed. Our facilities team will need time to safely conduct countywide assessments on all of our sites to ensure our traditional public schools and offices are safe to welcome back students, teachers, and staff members,” the district said in a Facebook post.

The county, which could suffer a direct hit from Milton, was also urging residents in evacuation zones to seek shelter. The county is setting up evacuation centers, but those should be viewed as a “last resort,” the county government said in a statement.
<h2>FEMA Moves Staff and Supplies Into Place in Advance of Milton</h2>
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell says the agency is moving staff and supplies into place in advance of Milton. Criswell pleaded with residents to listen to their local officials for guidance on what to do as the storm bears down.

“This is an extremely dangerous hurricane,” Criswell said Tuesday morning. “I need people to listen to their local officials to get out of harm’s way. … People don’t need to move far. They just need to move inland.”
<h2>Authorities in the Mexican State of Yucatan Reported Only Minor Damage From Milton</h2>
The hurricane remained offshore early Tuesday. Power lines, light poles, and trees were knocked down near the coast, and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, according to Yucatan Gov. Joaquín Díaz, but he did not report any deaths or injuries.
<h2>Are Residents Ready?</h2>
While Floridians are no strangers to storms, Tampa hasn’t been in the direct path of a major hurricane in over a century.

In that lapse, the area has exploded in growth. Tens of thousands of Americans moved to the area during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many choosing to settle along barrier islands like Clearwater and St. Petersburg overlooking the normally placid, emerald Gulf waters. More than 51,000 people moved to the area between 2022 and 2023, making it the fifth-largest-growing U.S. metropolitan area, according to U.S. Census data.

Longer-term residents, after having experienced numerous false alarms and near misses like Irma in 2017, may be similarly unprepared for a direct hit. A local legend has it that blessings from Native Americans who once called the region home and used to build mounds to keep out invaders have largely protected the area from major storms for centuries.

MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel said a hurricane in Tampa is the “black swan” worst-case scenario that experts have worried about for years.
<h2>Milton Poses 'Extremely Serious Threat': National Hurricane Center</h2>
Hurricane Milton poses an "extremely serious threat" to Florida as it heads towards the state, National Hurricane Center experts said in an Oct. 8 morning bulletin.

"Residents are urged to follow the orders of local officials," the bulletin <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT4+shtml/080832.shtml">stated</a>.

Milton strengthened on Monday to a Category 5 hurricane, the highest level on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, before weakening back to a Category 4. Category 5 hurricanes produce winds of at least 157 miles per hour and are guaranteed to cause catastrophic damage, according to the center. By Tuesday morning, Milton’s maximum winds were near 155 miles per hour.

"While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida," the center added.

The hurricane is expected to turn northeast later on Tuesday and remains on track to make landfall in Florida by Wednesday evening.

The storm is located about 560 miles southwest of Tampa and 85 miles from Progreso, Mexico.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GovRonDeSantis/videos/1289814558844888/">told</a> a press conference that people should make and execute a plan before it becomes too late to take action. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place in multiple counties along the Gulf Coast.

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said he was encouraged by how many people are evacuating ahead of the storm.

"This is actually a good sign, that people are starting to get out of harm's way," he said during the Oct. 7 briefing.

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for Rio Lagartos to Cabo Catoche, from Campeche to Celestun, for Dry Tortugas and Lake Okeechobee, from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach, and from the St. Lucie/Indian River County line to the mouth of the St. Marys River. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within these areas.

Experts have also issued a storm surge warning for Flamingo to the Suwannee River, which includes Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay. A storm surge warning means there is danger from life-threatening inundation.

Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a separate press conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 percent of the time.”

The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Hurricane Helene and its powerful surge—a wall of water up to 8 feet it created even though its eye was 100 miles offshore. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

Milton could bring storm surges of up to 12 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A steady stream of vehicles headed north toward the Florida Panhandle on Interstate 75, the main highway on the west side of the peninsula, as residents heeded evacuation orders. Traffic clogged the southbound lanes of the highway for miles as other residents headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the other side of the state.

About 150 miles (south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly a ghost town by Monday afternoon as an evacuation order took effect. Hurricane Ian devastated the 5,000-resident community two years ago, its 15-foot storm surge destroying or severely damaging 400 homes and businesses. Fourteen people died there as they tried to ride out the storm, and dozens had to be rescued.

On Monday, the few residents who could be found were racing against the clock to safeguard their buildings and belongings. None said they were staying.

Workers in Florida have been preparing for Milton by removing debris from previous storms, pre-staging for rescue missions, and ensuring generators are ready to kick in.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been in touch with DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to learn firsthand about the preparations.

Harris <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/10/07/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-before-air-force-two-departure-joint-base-andrews-md/">said</a> on Monday that the storm would be "very, very serious" and urged people to listen to evacuation orders.

<em>Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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