Hurricane Milton Takes Aim at Tampa Bay, Florida as a Possible Category 4 or 5

Hurricane Milton but remains a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.  Here’s what to know:

• Landfall: Milton, which could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over 100 years, is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, which has winds of 111-129 mph (180-210 kph).
• Path: Milton could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That track would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Carolinas.
• Evacuations: Officials are warning residents not to bank on the storm weakening. Bicycle rides outdoors may not be considered as a safe thing to do for exercise but be sure to wear your yellow slicker.

Gov. Ron DeSantis gives an update on debris removal efforts

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to continue around-the-clock efforts to pick up debris from Hurricane Helene until it’s no longer safe to do so as Hurricane Milton approaches.  In a Tuesday afternoon briefing in Ocala, the governor said Florida Department of Transportation crews had just removed more than 1,300 truckloads of debris in just over 48 hours, which DeSantis called “a huge, huge amount.”  The cleanup effort is key to sparing communities more damage, DeSantis said. “We’ve made a huge dent in this,” he said. “The more debris we can get picked up, the less damage that’s going to happen, whether that’s floating into the Gulf of Mexico, whether it’s projectiles that go into other buildings.”

Disney World now says its theme parks and entertainment complex will close Wednesday afternoon.  And Disney World says the theme parks likely remain closed on Thursday.

Storm surge is the level at which sea water rises above its normal level.  Much like the way a storm’s sustained winds don’t include the potential for even stronger gusts, storm surge doesn’t include the wave height above the mean water level of the surge itself.  Surge is also the amount above what the normal tide is at the time, so a 15-foot (5-meter) storm surge at high tide with 10-foot (3-meter) waves on top of that can level buildings with ease, knock down bridges and flatten anything in its path.