The storm was major hurricane as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. It comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck, causing deaths and catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains.
While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose Sunday to at least 230 people.
The Mexican government issued a hurricane warning for the Yucatan Peninsula from Celestun to Rio Lagartos, the center said.
About 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down on the state. The exodus jammed freeways, led to hourslong lines at gas stations that still had fuel and left evacuees frustrated and, in some cases, vowing never to evacuate again.
Building on lessons learned during Irma and other previous storms, Florida is staging emergency fuel for gas vehicles and charging stations for electric vehicles along evacuation routes, Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said at a Sunday briefing.
“We are looking at every potential, possible location that can potentially house someone, as what we refer to in emergency management, as a refuge of last resort,” Guthrie added.
