NORFOLK, Va. — On Saturday, Oct. 5, the National Hurricane Center designated Invest 92-L in the Gulf of Mexico as Tropical Depression Fourteen at the 11 a.m. advisory, but it quickly after became our 13th named storm, Tropical Storm Milton, Saturday afternoon.
Right now, Milton has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, gusting up to 50 mph, and is moving towards the north-northeast slowly, at 3 mph.
Milton is 365 miles off the coast of Mexico, in the western Gulf of Mexico, and is expected to continue toward the east strengthening into a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 80 mph by Monday morning.
By Tuesday, Milton is expected to strengthen further into a Category 2 hurricane, with winds up to 110 mph, and is expected to make landfall on Florida's west coast between Wednesday morning and afternoon, as a major category 3 hurricane with winds up to 115 mph.
This will be the third landfalling hurricane in Florida in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, just weeks after Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend just a few weeks ago, along with Hurricane Debby back in August.
The forecast cone for where Milton may make landfall extends from the Big Bend all the way to South Florida, including Tampa, Sarasota, and Naples.
Milton is expected to bring storm surge, strong winds, and flooding concerns to portions of the west coast of Florida when it makes landfall on Wednesday.
Milton will pass over the Florida peninsula, exiting the east coast of Florida by late Wednesday or early Thursday, still as a Category 1 hurricane. As of now, Milton should stay off the coast and eventually head out to sea late Thursday and Friday.
HAMPTON ROADS IMPACTS
The good news is, Hampton Roads and Eastern North Carolina should not see direct impacts from Milton. As Milton moves into the Atlantic, we can expect higher tides and strong rip currents at the beaches on Thursday and Friday.
