As Hurricane Milton approaches, it has diminished slightly but remains a formidable Category 4 storm, posing a serious threat to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on its trajectory toward Florida. In response to the storm’s path, authorities have ordered the evacuation of over a million residents in its anticipated wake.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted, “Milton is expected to maintain its dangerous status as it nears Florida’s shores.”
The densely populated west coast of Florida, still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks prior, is on high alert for the storm’s impending landfall, expected tomorrow.
President Joe Biden has emphatically urged individuals in the storm’s path to “evacuate immediately,” emphasizing that this could be a life-or-death situation.
Furthermore, he announced the approval of emergency declarations in advance of landfall and urged airlines to assist with evacuations without resorting to price-gouging.
With wind gusts peaking at 270 km/h, Milton has slightly declined from its highest classification on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. Forecast models suggest that these winds might diminish to 233 km/h by the time Milton reaches Florida. However, this level of intensity is still more than enough to wreak havoc, with predictions of power outages persisting for days.
Driven by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Milton is recorded as the third-fastest storm to strengthen in the Atlantic, having escalated from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in under 24 hours, according to the NHC.
Countless residents are already evacuating as Hurricane Milton continues to churn through the Gulf waters.
Interestingly, its path from west to east is atypical. Usually, Gulf hurricanes originate in the Caribbean Sea before veering westward and eventually heading north.
Jonathan Lin, an atmospheric scientist affiliated with Cornell University, stated, “It is extraordinarily unusual for a hurricane to originate in the western Gulf and then track eastward to hit Florida’s western coastline.”
In Mexico’s Yucatan region, workers hurriedly boarded up windows and secured glass doors against the storm.
Lin also noted, “The trajectory of the storm is crucial, as it determines where the most significant storm surge will impact.”
The hurricane center anticipates storm surges reaching heights between 3 to 4.5 meters along the coastline both north and south of Tampa Bay.
Jamie Rhome, deputy director at the NHC, explained that Milton is likely to expand in size prior to landfall, encompassing hundreds of kilometers of coastline within the surge warning area.
Rhome forecasted that Milton would maintain its hurricane status throughout its journey across Florida’s landscape, addressing reporters in a briefing yesterday.
Yucatan is already feeling the effects.
As of 1 AM local time (7 AM Irish time), the eye of the storm was located approximately 105 km north-northeast of Progreso, a port city in Yucatan, and 840 km southwest of Tampa, moving eastward at a speed of 15 km/h.
Even though the eye of the storm seemed to have bypassed the Yucatan Peninsula, authorities warned of dangerous conditions affecting the region during the early morning hours.
“We urge everyone to heed the warnings from civil protection authorities at both the federal and state levels. If you reside in low-lying areas, please seek shelter in pre-established locations,” said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The region, home to the charming colonial city of Merida, boasts a population of about 1.2 million and features several iconic Mayan ruins, making it a tourist hotspot, along with the port of Progreso.
In Florida, coastal counties issued orders for residents in flood-prone zones to seek higher grounds.
In Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, officials mandated the evacuation of more than 500,000 individuals. Meanwhile, Lee County faced similar circumstances, with approximately 416,000 residents living in mandatory evacuation zones.
Additionally, six other coastal counties initiated evacuation orders, including Hillsborough County, home to the bustling city of Tampa.
With only a day left for evacuations, local authorities expressed concerns over potential traffic congestion and long lines at gas stations.
Relief operations are already in full swing across much of the southeastern US as the region continues to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, another Category 4 storm that wreaked havoc in Florida on September 26, resulting in over 200 fatalities and costing billions in damages across six states.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
