Florida Braces as Hurricane Milton ‘Rapidly Intensifies’ into Category 5

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Florida Braces as Hurricane Milton ‘Rapidly Intensifies’ into Category 5

The people of Florida are bracing for possible devastation as Hurricane Milton makes its way east across the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm, which is expected to make landfall in Florida this week, has just been upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane as it strengthens.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning that Milton could maintain its status as an annihilating Category 5 storm when it hots Florida.

On Monday morning, NWS said that data from two hurricane tracking airplanes shows sustained wind speeds of 150 mph.

The speeds move Milton into a Category 4 storm.

However, sustained winds of 157 mph or higher will move a hurricane from Category 4 to Category 5, according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Monday afternoon, the storm was officially upgraded to a Cat 5 after sustained winds were recorded above a staggering 160 mph

Milton’s path is also expected to include Orlando, Florida before it moves to the state’s Atlantic coast and eventually out into the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday evening.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 51 Florida counties on Sunday.

Mandatory evacuations have been issued for some zones in the Tampa Bay area as of Monday morning.

“Impacts will be felt across the Florida peninsula, as Milton is forecasted to exit Florida’s east coast as a hurricane,” DeSantis said on Sunday.

“Floridians should prepare now for potential impacts, even if you live outside of the forecast cone.

“We recommend following all evacuation orders from your local officials.”

Hurricane Milton’s path is somewhat unusual, forming in the Gulf of Mexico before moving eastward, but similar paths have been recorded in the past, most recently in 1998.

“It’s not uncommon to get a hurricane threat in October along the west coast of Florida, but forming all the way in the southwest Gulf and then striking Florida is a little bit more unusual,” said Hurricane Center specialist Daniel Brown.

Milton is forecasted to hit Florida just two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in northern Florida before moving into Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina, causing catastrophic flooding and damage and killing more than 200 people.

While Helene made landfall in northern Florida, the Tampa Bay area saw massive storm surges and high winds, which caused severe damage from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

However, Milton is now expected to be worse than Helene.

Hurricane Milton will be the worst disaster that Florida has ever seen, a longstanding expert has warned.

David Hartman, who works for WAPT in neighboring Mississippi, wrote:

“Sadly, this is shaping up to be the worst natural disaster in modern history for Florida.”

His X post came after Milton was declared a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest type there is.

Milton is set to make landfall on Wednesday.

The most recent updates suggest the Tampa area could be hit by 15-foot storm surges and wind speeds of 175 mph.

Evacuation orders began at 10 am Monday, with gas and flights selling out as locals began to flee.

Much of the area is still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Worried locals are now fearful Milton will obliterate properties badly damaged by the previous storm.

Following the devastation caused by Helene, the Biden-Harris administration was blasted for an apparent lack of response in the storm’s immediate aftermath.

After Helene hit multiple states, whistleblowers accused the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) of misappropriating funds while leaving first responders on the ground without orders.

Mandatory evacuations are in place in Tampa ahead of Hurricane Milton and the highway is at a standstill

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