Tropical Storm Milton Hits Hurricane Force as It Bears Down on Florida with Mass Evacuations Predicted NOAA via AP

Storm Milton strengthened from a major tropical disturbance into a Category 3 hurricane early on Monday morning, increasing the threat to Florida’s west coast, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in a special alert.

The state is now gearing up for what could be its biggest mass evacuation in seven years as the behemoth heads toward major population centers including Tampa and Orlando.

“While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday,” the NHC said in a forecast discussion.

The NHC also warned of “5 to 8 inches” of rainfall “with localized totals up to 12 inches … expected across portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night” in an advisory Sunday. According to the NHC, the storm is currently in the Gulf of Mexico off of Mexico’s east coast.

Milton comes 10 days after Hurricane Helene made landfall and caused mass destruction in the Southeast, most notably in western North Carolina.

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Helene was one of the largest storms the Gulf of Mexico has seen in the last century.

Damage it caused could total more than $160 billion, according to estimates, with a rising death toll still to be finalised, as Breitbart News reported.

“Storm Surge and Hurricane Watches could be issued later today or tonight,” the NHC said in their discussion Sunday. “Residents in the Florida Peninsula should follow any advice given by local officials and check back for updates to the forecast.”

In a post on the social platform X, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Sunday he is “closely monitoring” the storm.

“We are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Milton, which has the potential to become a major hurricane,” DeSantis said in his post.

“Current estimates forecast landfall sometime Wednesday afternoon — there is still time to prepare your homes, organize your disaster plan, and implement plans to keep yourself and your family safe,” he added. “We’ve mobilized state assets to supplement local governments in an unprecedented debris removal mission for areas that suffered damage from Hurricane Helene and are currently in the projected path of Milton.”

The hurricane center is warning people in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, as well as the Bahamas to closely monitor this system from late Monday onwards for potential impacts.

With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, according to Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach, AP reports.

There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September.

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