Cat. 5 Hurricane Milton: landfall expected within 24 hours
Hurricane Milton continues its path toward Southwest Florida as a major hurricane. The NBC2 First Alert Hurricane team is tracking the storm Milton in the Gulf as it is expected to land on Florida’s west coast.
As of the 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton has maintained strength as a strong cat. 5 hurricane with winds sustained at 160 mph. Milton’s forward speed has increased to the northeast at 14 mph. The storm’s latest pressure reading is at 907 mb.
The storm is about 300 miles southwest of Tampa.
The wind field is expected to increase as the storm nears landfall Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
A storm surge warning has been issued for coastal Southwest Florida. For coastal Lee and Charlotte counties, 8-12 feet of storm surge is possible. A 10-15′ storm surge is possible for the immediate coast in Charlotte County. For coastal Collier County, 5-8 feet of storm surge is possible.
A hurricane warning has been issued for portions of the west coast of Florida, including Charlotte, DeSoto, and Lee Counties.
A hurricane watch is still in effect for Collier, Glades, and Hendry Counties.
A Tropical Storm Warning is also in effect for the counties above in the hurricane watch.
