Milton rockets to a Category 5 hurricane and sets sights on Florida

(AP) - Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest level, in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday on a path toward Florida, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

Milton intensified quickly Monday and was expected to become a large hurricane over the eastern Gulf. It had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (257 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. Its center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, and it could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

A hurricane warning was issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and much of Florida’s west coast was under hurricane and storm surge watches. Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, which often floods during intense storms, was also under a hurricane watch.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

Forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and said flash and river flooding could result from 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain in mainland Florida and the Keys, with as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) in places.

The Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful surge. Twelve people perished, with the worst damage along a 20-mile (32-kilometer) string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that it was imperative that messes from Helene be cleared ahead of Milton’s arrival so they don’t become dangerous flying projectiles. More than 300 vehicles picked up debris Sunday but encountered a locked landfill gate when they tried to drop it off. State troopers used a rope tied to a pickup truck and busted it open, DeSantis said.

“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said. “We have to get the job done.”

About 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down. The exodus jammed freeways, led to long lines at gas stations and left evacuees 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 Sunday.

“We are preparing ... for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma,” Guthrie said.

Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, ordered evacuations for areas adjacent to Tampa Bay and for all mobile and manufactured homes by Tuesday night.

“Yes, this stinks. We know that, and it comes on the heels of where a lot of us are still recovering from Hurricane Helene,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “But if you safeguard your families, you will be alive.”

If residents don't evacuate, it could put first responders in jeopardy or make rescues impossible: “If you remain there, you could die and my men and women could die trying to rescue you,” Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty said. “Help them by leaving.”

Milton’s center was about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 715 miles (1,150 kilometers) southwest of Tampa late Monday morning, moving east-southeast at 9 mph (15 kph), according to the hurricane center.

DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration Sunday to 51 counties and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week’s worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road.

On beaches in the St. Pete Beach area, where Helene's storm surge flooded homes and businesses, lifeguards removed beach chairs and other items Monday that could become projectiles in hurricane winds. Schools including the University of Central Florida in Orlando announced they would close in the middle of the week, and Walt Disney World said it was monitoring the hurricane but operating normally for the time being.

All road tolls were suspended in western central Florida. The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it would close after the last flight Tuesday, and Tampa International Airport said it planned to halt airline and cargo flights starting Tuesday morning.

All classes and school activities in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, closed preemptively Monday through Wednesday, and schools were being converted into shelters. Officials in Tampa freed all city garages to residents hoping to protect their cars from flooding, including electric vehicles. The vehicles must be left on the third floor or higher in each garage.

The coastal Mexican state of Yucatan announced it was cancelling classes in most towns and cities along the coast, after forecasters predicted Milton would brush the northern part of the state. The cancellations included its most heavily populated Gulf coast cities, like Progreso; the capital, Merida; and the natural protected area of Celestun, known for its flamingoes.

It has been two decades since so many storms crisscrossed Florida in such a short period of time. In 2004, an unprecedented five storms struck Florida within six weeks, including three hurricanes that pummeled central Florida.

Although Tampa hasn’t been hit directly by a hurricane in over a century, other parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast are recovering from such storms in the past two years. The Fort Myers area in southwest Florida is still rebuilding from Hurricane Ian, which caused $112 billion in damage in 2022. Three hurricanes have thrashed Florida’s Big Bend region in just 13 months, including Helene.

Milton is a bit atypical since it formed so far west and is expected to cross the entire southern Gulf, according to Daniel Brown, a hurricane specialist at the center.

“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,” Brown said. Most storms that form in October and hit Florida come from the Caribbean, not the southwestern Gulf, he said.