This morning Hurricane Milton is a category five hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 260 km/h as it spins about 255 kilometres west of the Dry Tortugas. It could be one of most destructive storms on record.
Milton is expected to make landfall later tonight as a dangerous major hurricane which has prompted thousands to evacuate. There are hurricane, tropical storm, and storm surge watches and warnings in effect.
Model guidance indicates that Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida late tonight or early Thursday morning, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon. The outer bands of the storm are already beginning to impact Florida.
Adding to the storm is the debris left behind by Hurricane Helene. These objects could be pick up by the wind causing more damage.
