Geocolor image in the eye of hurricane (Hurricane Milton not pictured) – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Trong Nguyen
Monday, as workers hurried to gather up piles of appliances and other street debris left over from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and as cars backed up into highways in anticipation of the storm, Florida’s storm-battered Gulf Coast raced against a Category 5 hurricane.
The Tampa Bay area, which has not been directly affected by a major hurricane in almost a century, may see the center of Hurricane Milton make landfall on Wednesday. Although the system may maintain hurricane power as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean, scientists expect it to decrease somewhat before landfall. That would mainly avoid those states devastated by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida and killed at least 230 people en route to the Appalachian Mountains.
At a press conference, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated, “This is the real deal with Milton.” “If you challenge Mother Nature, she always prevails.”
In order to prevent the debris from Hurricane Helene from turning into missiles, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated on Monday that it was essential to remove it before Milton arrives.
Forecasters warned of potential extensive flooding from 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 cm) of rain in mainland Florida and the Keys, as well as a potential 8 to 12-foot storm surge (2.4 to 3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay, prompting the issuance of evacuation orders. There could be spots where up to 15 inches (38 cm) fall.
There are more than 3.3 million people living in the Tampa metro region.
It has a sizable populace. According to Kerry Emanuel, a meteorology professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “it’s very exposed, very inexperienced, and that’s a losing proposition.” “I’ve always believed that Tampa should be the most concerned city.”
There were hurricane and storm surge watches across a large portion of Florida’s west coast. A hurricane warning was issued for the Yucatan state of Mexico, with potential catastrophic flooding.
On Monday, Milton rapidly grew over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Its maximum sustained winds were reported by the National Hurricane Center to be 175 mph (282 kph). At lunchtime, the storm’s core was located roughly 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) southwest of Tampa and was traveling at 9 mph (15 kph) east-southeast.
The aftermath of Hurricane Helene’s strong surge is still being felt in the Tampa Bay area. There were twelve fatalities, and a chain of barrier islands running from St. Petersburg to Clearwater suffered the most damage.
In the rush to remove the remnants of Hurricane Helene, over 300 trucks collected rubbish on Sunday, but upon dropping it off, they discovered a shut landfill gate. According to DeSantis, state troopers broke it open using a rope that was fastened to a pickup truck.
Red tape and bureaucracy are not what we have time for, according to DeSantis.
“There will be flying missiles,”
Beach chairs and other items that can fly away in high winds were removed by lifeguards in Pinellas County, which is located on the peninsula forming Tampa Bay. Stoves, chairs, refrigerators, and kitchen tables were piled up somewhere and waiting to be picked up.
Belleair Beach resident Sarah Steslicki expressed her frustration that more debris had not been gathered sooner.
Steslicki stated on Monday, “They’ve been screwing around and haven’t picked up the debris, and now they’re scrambling to get it picked up.” “If this one does strike, airborne missiles will be involved. There will be floating and flying objects in the air.
Tampa’s home county, Hillsborough County, issued evacuation orders by Tuesday night for all prefabricated and mobile homes as well as for regions close to Tampa Bay.
President Biden issued an emergency proclamation for Florida, and U.S. Representative Kathy Castor reported that 7,000 federal employees were dispatched to assist, marking one of the greatest federal manpower mobilizations in history.
Reluctant to Evacuate
Milton’s strategy brought back memories of Hurricane Irma in 2017, when over 7 million people were asked to leave Florida in a mass evacuation that congested highways and gas stations. A few in the departing crowd swore they would never flee again.
Some gas stations in the Tampa and Fort Myers areas had already ran out of fuel by Monday morning. Fuel kept coming into Florida; according to DeSantis, the state had accumulated hundreds of thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel, and much more was on the way.
As inhabitants followed evacuation orders, a continuous stream of cars traveled north into the Florida Panhandle on Interstate 75, the primary thoroughfare on the west side of the peninsula. As other inhabitants headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the opposite side of the state, traffic jammed the highway’s southbound lanes for kilometers.
West Central Florida had suspended all road tolls. As people escaped, state transportation officials permitted drivers to utilize the left shoulders of eastbound Interstate 4 and northbound Interstate 75.
Tanya Marunchak and her husband weren’t sure if they should leave their Belleair Beach home on Monday morning, despite the fact that it had over 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water in it after Hurricane Helene. Her husband believed their three-story house could withstand Milton, but she wanted to go.
“All of our furniture and cars were lost.” According to Marunchak, “the first floor was completely destroyed.” “This weather situation is the strangest I have ever encountered.”
Why did Milton get so intense so quickly?
The wind speed increase in Milton in a single day was 92 mph (148 kph), which was only surpassed by Hurricanes Wilma in 2005 and Felix in 2007. Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane expert at Colorado State University, said that Milton’s tiny “pinhole eye,” similar to Wilma’s, is one reason it strengthened so quickly.
According to Klotzbach, the storm is expected to undergo an eye wall replacement cycle, which is a normal occurrence that results in the formation of a new eye and an increase in storm size but a decrease in wind strength.
According to Kristen Corbosiero, a hurricane scientist at the University of Albany, “the fuel is just there” because the Gulf of Mexico is currently abnormally warm. Milton also likely passed over an exceptionally warm eddy that aided to further warm the water.
Michael in 2018 was the latest storm to reach a Category 5 when it made landfall on the US mainland.
Florida’s widespread cancellations
Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, was preparing for the hurricane by converting its schools into shelters. Tampa officials opened city garages to citizens in an effort to keep their vehicles safe from flooding.
Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Tampa airports were all scheduled to close. According to Walt Disney World, things are going as usual for the time being.
Governor of Yucatan state Joaquín Díaz ordered on Monday to cancel all non-essential activity, with the exception of pharmacies, grocery stores, hospitals, and gas stations. Mexican officials also arranged for buses to evacuate residents of Progreso, a coastal city, from their homes.
Twenty years have passed since Florida had so many storms in such a brief amount of time. In 2004, Florida was hit by an unprecedented five storms in six weeks, including three hurricanes that devastated central Florida.
The Gulf Coast of Florida is still recovering from storms in other areas. Southwest Florida’s Fort Myers region is still recovering from Hurricane Ian in 2022, which inflicted $112 billion in damages. In just 13 months, Florida’s Big Bend region has been battered by three hurricanes, including Helene.
Don Girard was getting his three-story house ready for Milton on Fort Myers Beach, only a hundred feet from the ocean. Helene flooded the house two weeks ago, and Debby did the same in August. Hurricane Ian caused waves to slam into the second story two years ago.
“It’s been challenging. Girard vowed not to tell you lies. “The past few years have not been good.”
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.