Milton is a Category 4 Hurricane and still expected to make landfall near Tampa Bay

After strengthening to a Category 5 yesterday, Hurricane Milton has been downgraded to a Category 4 major hurricane, with sustained winds of 150 mph, says the National Hurricane Center.

According to a 10 a.m. advisory from the NHC, the storm is still barreling towards Tampa Bay, moving east-northeast at about nine mph, roughly 520 miles southwest of Tampa.

The NHC has reminded Floridians that today is the last full day to prepare their homes or evacuate their families before Milton’s expected landfall tomorrow night.

Milton is still projected to be the worst storm Tampa Bay has seen in more than a century.

The path of the storm has become more clear in the last 12 hours, with the NHC saying “The center is likely to make landfall along the
west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night, and move east-northeastward across central Florida through Thursday.”

Hurricane force winds will extend up to 30 miles outside the eye, according to the NHC.

WFTS’ Denis Phillips says “Intensity will continue to fluctuate through the day,” and noted that further strengthening is possible.

All of Tampa Bay is currently under a Hurricane Watch and a Storm Surge Watch, with a projected peak surge as high as 15 feet in Tampa Bay.

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This article appears in Oct 3-9, 2024.