When will hurricane Milton hit Florida? This is the expected date and time of landfall
Florida is preparing to receive another hurricane, which has formed in the Gulf of Mexico this week.
Hurricane Milton, a powerful Category 5 hurricane, is barreling towards Florida’s west coast, prompting widespread evacuations and urgent preparations. According to the latest forecasts, Milton is expected to make landfall late Wednesday or very early Thursday, likely in or near the Tampa Bay area.
The National Hurricane Center anticipates that Milton will remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall. On Tuesday afternoon, the storm was churning northeast of the Yucatán Peninsula where it regained strength with maximum sustained winds of rising to around 165 mph.
As of Wednesday morning it was roughly 350 miles southwest of Tampa Bay. While some fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to be a formidable Category 3 hurricane when it strikes land prompting evacuations orders for eleven counties in western Florida.
Only four hurricanes have hit land at Category 5.
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The projected path of Hurricane Milton
Milton’s most likely path suggests it will approach Florida’s central west coast on Wednesday. The storm is expected to maintain hurricane status as it moves across central Florida before entering the Atlantic Ocean. This trajectory would largely spare other southeastern states still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
A destructive, life-threatening storm surge is expected along the western Florida Gulf Coast.
The National Hurricane Center has warned of storm surges reaching 10 to 15 feet above ground level in the Tampa Bay area. Devastating hurricane-force winds are anticipated near the coast and well inland through central Florida.