Hurricane Milton is bearing down on the west coast of Florida and could have a devastating impact.
The Category 5 hurricane is expected to weaken before making landfall, but it’s still likely to be a major hurricane with a catastrophic storm surge.
What time will Milton make landfall?
Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a major hurricane overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, the most likely time for landfall is between midnight and 3 a.m. Thursday.
At 5 a.m., the National Hurricane Center said Milton was centered 300 miles southwest of Tampa and moving northeast at 14 mph.
The eye of the storm is expected to hit anywhere from Tampa to Sarasota.
Hazards
Experts said the storm surge from Milton will be “destructive” and “life-threatening” from Tampa to Port Charlotte.
The storm surge is forecasted to be 10-15 feet -- enough to overtake single-story buildings
Life-threatening inundation is expected over the next 36 hours, with rising water moving inland.
Hurricane-force winds will extend up to 30 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical-storm-force winds can extend out to 125 miles.
About 6-12 inches of rainfall is expected, with some areas getting up to 18 inches.
Several tornadoes are also possible.
