USA: Florida Braces for Another Hurricane

Milton Forecast to Rapidly Intensify

Milton is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 36 hours and could be a major Category 3 hurricane when it reaches the west coast of the Florida peninsula mid-week, bringing the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of the state’s west coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 storm or larger with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour.

As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday, Milton was 385 miles west-northwest of Veracruz, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was inching north-northeast at 3 mph.

The storm threat from Milton comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 and created a 500-mile path of destruction with catastrophic flooding, damaging winds and power outages. Local authorities have reported more than 200 deaths across six states and fear the number could rise. Helene was one of the largest storms the Gulf of Mexico has seen in the last century.

Far Eastern Tropical Atlantic Alert

The National Hurricane Center is also watching a tropical wave that is expected to move off the west coast of Africa in a few days. The NHC says some development of this system is possible thereafter while it moves westward or west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. The system is expected to move near or over the Cabo Verde Islands on Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10.

Tropical Weather Outlook for the Atlantic from the National Hurricane Center.

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