Hurricane Milton live updates: 'Potentially catastrophic' Category 5 storm takes aim at Florida

The National Hurricane Center's website crashed about 5 p.m. ET today. The website hosts hurricane forecasts, warnings and advisories.

"The NHC site was down for about 15 minutes, but it’s back up now and stable. We’ll have more information to share soon," said Erica Grow Cei, a public affairs specialist for the National Weather Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The National Weather Service has experienced network outages and technology troubles during high-impact weather events in the recent past. In April, it experienced outages during an outbreak of tornadoes in the Midwest, according to The Washington Post.

Hurricane Milton continues to grow stronger this evening, clocking sustained winds of nearly 180 mph, according to the latest National Hurricane Center forecast. 

“Milton is expected to grow in size and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. This is an extremely life-threatening situation,” the National Hurricane Center wrote in its 5 p.m. ET forecast. 

Milton is expected to make landfall somewhere on Florida’s west coast overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning. 

The National Hurricane Center said that Milton could strengthen more today but that it could be beginning an eyewall replacement cycle, which would cause the storm to grow but also slow wind speeds at its center. 

Eyewall replacement is a typical process for hurricanes, as thunderstorms on the outside of the storms coalesce into ring structures and then replace the old eyewalls.

While winds could weaken, the potential for damage and destruction remains extreme.

“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” forecasters wrote.

In an update on Hurricane Milton's rapid growth for NBC South Florida, hurricane specialist John Morales became visibly emotional.

“I apologize. This is just horrific,” he said.

Parts of Florida are bracing for Hurricane Milton's arrival amid ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall near the city of Perry less than two weeks ago.

Hurricane watches are in effect in the southern parts of Florida’s Big Bend region, where Helene came ashore and battered towns and cities before it moved into Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

The National Weather Service yesterday acknowledged the stress and mental toll on residents dealing with two successive hurricanes, posting some tips on X for navigating “fatigue due to disasters.”

The White House detailed in a statement this afternoon how FEMA is assisting with preparations, particularly in areas still reeling from Helene.

“Debris remaining from the impacts of Hurricane Helene poses additional threats to lives and livelihoods if another storm occurs,” the statement said. “FEMA is supporting the State of Florida to expedite the removal of debris from Hurricane Helene in the Tampa region in advance of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.”

A slew of Florida school districts have announced closings as the state prepares for Milton’s arrival.

Schools will be closed tomorrow in more than 20 counties, including Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Manatee, Osceola and Okeechobee.

Additional closures across much of the state will go into effect Wednesday and Thursday, including in Broward and Nassau counties.

More information about school closings can be found on the state Education Department’s website.

Several universities have canceled classes this week, as well: Florida International University, the University of Tampa, the University of Central Florida in Orlando, the University of Florida in Gainesville and the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Floridians in Milton's path should flee for safety and not give a second thought to potential looting or property theft, authorities said in a news conference.

"This is a law-and-order state," said Dave Kerner, executive director of Florida Highway Patrol. He promised a robust law enforcement presence in evacuated areas.

"We will not tolerate people that are looting, that are trying to take advantage of people that are going through an emergency," he said. "So do not hesitate to evacuate out of fear that your property will be damaged or stolen."

Bumper-to-bumper traffic has clogged interstates as residents of Florida's west coast evacuate ahead of the hurricane's anticipated arrival Wednesday. Shoulders have been open to traffic, but authorities do not plan to reverse the flow of cars in lanes that usually go the opposite direction (a practice known as "contraflow").

"We need that interstate system for staging assets and resources," state Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue said.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell will travel to Florida today to meet with state and local officials ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, the agency said.

The White House said in a a release that FEMA's preparations include mobilizing search-and-rescue teams, debris experts, wastewater specialists and ambulances to support local response efforts. The agency has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water ready for those affected by Helene and Milton, the White House said.

“FEMA has sufficient funding to both support the response to Hurricane Milton and continue to support the response to Hurricane Helene — including funding to support first responders and provide immediate assistance to disaster survivors,” it said.

After her visit to Florida, Criswell is expected to travel back to North Carolina to oversee Helene recovery efforts there, but other FEMA leaders will remain in Florida for the duration of the storm.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he has yet to speak to President Joe Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris as his state prepares for Hurricane Milton.

Asked at a news conference this afternoon about NBC News' report that he had refused to take calls from Harris, DeSantis said that he didn't know Harris had been trying to reach him and that he has not been in contact with Biden because federal authorities have granted every request from Tallahassee.

“The president has approved what we asked for,” DeSantis told reporters.

“We’re thankful for that,” he added, rejecting suggestions that he has dodged the White House out of political animus. “If there’s something we need that they don’t approve, I will not hesitate to call him.”

Tampa International Airport will halt operations beginning tomorrow at 9 a.m. local time and stay closed until sometime after the storm.

“The Airport anticipates reopening after a damage assessment that will begin as soon as it is safe to do so,” officials said in a statement.

Three other airports managed by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority — Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive and Plant City airports — will close on similar timelines, officials said.

Tampa International Airport is in an “A” evacuation zone and thus will not be open to the public or serve as a shelter for people or vehicles during the storm. Instead, airport personnel will work today and tomorrow morning to protect aircraft and jet bridges, secure ground equipment and prepare the airfield and terminals ahead of the hurricane’s arrival.

John and Rhonda Keigher packed one last possession from their storm-damaged home on Madeira Beach, Florida, before they drove away: a blue and white dollhouse that Rhonda built 10 years ago.

They carefully carried the dollhouse to the trunk of their car as they prepared to find a safe place out of Hurricane Milton’s path.

“We don’t have a house, but we have this house,” John said, trying to smile.

Flooding from Hurricane Helene last month damaged their home, with water reaching 5 feet. This is the couple's second evacuation.

The Keighers estimated that for flood, hurricane and wind insurance, they paid $20,000 last year alone. But even if they get insurance money, they do not plan to rebuild, John said.

Rhonda, looking at the pile of debris they pulled out of their mud-covered home, said, “We are exhausted.” They plan to move to Georgia.

NASA has delayed a planned launch of a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

The agency’s Europa Clipper probe was scheduled to lift off Thursday atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

But NASA yesterday announced that it will postpone the launch because of Hurricane Milton, which is forecast to make landfall Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast. After that, the storm is expected to move east, bringing high winds and heavy rain to Florida’s central and eastern regions, including Cape Canaveral, where the Kennedy Space Center is located.

“The safety of launch team personnel is our highest priority, and all precautions will be taken to protect the Europa Clipper spacecraft,” Tim Dunn, a senior launch director at NASA’s Launch Services Program, said in a statement.

Recovery teams will assess the spaceport and its facilities for damage following the storm, after which agency officials will set a new targeted launch date. NASA said launch opportunities for the Europa Clipper mission extend until Nov. 6.

Hurricane Milton’s last 36 hours have been nothing short of astonishing, as it strengthened from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just over a day.

The storm’s blisteringly fast evolution is part of a trend of rapidly intensifying storms fueled by climate change.

The term “rapid intensification” describes an increase in sustained wind speeds of at least 35 mph over a 24-hour period, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Milton has obliterated that minimum, undergoing “extreme rapid intensification”: Its maximum sustained wind speed increased by 90 mph in roughly 25 hours, according to the nonprofit research group Climate Central.

Global warming is boosting the intensity of storms by providing the ingredients necessary for them to strengthen, including warm sea surface temperatures and high levels of moisture in the atmosphere.

Read the full story here.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not taking calls from Vice President Kamala Harris about storm recovery just over a week after Hurricane Helene hammered parts of his state.

A source familiar with the situation said DeSantis was dodging the Democratic presidential nominee’s calls because they “seemed political,” according to an aide. 

“Kamala was trying to reach out, and we didn’t answer,” the DeSantis aide told NBC News. 

When asked if DeSantis had spoken to President Joe Biden, the same person said, “not to my knowledge.”

Last week, DeSantis said Biden had called him, but he was flying at the time so could not take the call.

Read the full story here.

On X today, user @MilenaAmit posted a video showing an inundated road in Boca Raton, Florida. "Local flood watches already in effect thru Thursday, and we’re not even in Milton’s direct path," the post says. "Pray for Florida."

Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

Hurricane Milton has “explosively” intensified, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, according the latest bulletin from the National Hurricane Center.

The agency said Milton is now a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranks hurricanes from 1 to 5 based on a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed.

"While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida," the NHC said.

Milton is currently about 700 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and is moving east at around 9 mph. The hurricane is expected to move near the Yucatan Peninsula today and tomorrow, then cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and make landfall along Florida’s west coast on Wednesday.

Hurricane Milton has strengthened to a Category 5 storm as it approaches Florida’s Gulf Coast and is expected to make landfall Wednesday. NBC News’ Dana Griffin and Bill Karins report on the storm’s path and how residents are reacting.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) will shut down on Wednesday morning, officials said, in anticipation of Hurricane Milton heading inland.

Tampa International Airport earlier today announced it was closing on Tuesday morning, with Milton headed its way from the Gulf of Mexico.

"This move was made in coordination with our partners," according to an MCO statement. "We will resume commercial operations as soon as it is safe."

Hurricane Milton took about 19 hours to grow from a tropical storm to a Category 4 – the fastest in the Atlantic since Hurricane Eta in 2020. And among hurricanes in this and the previous two years, Milton is the quickest to grow so powerful, according to an NBC News analysis of government data.

Universities across Florida called off classes this week as Hurricane Milton quickly headed toward the state's west coast, officials said.

The University of South Florida in Tampa shut down today and will be closed through at least Wednesday, the Tampa school announced.

The University of Tampa will heed a Hillsborough County mandatory evacuation order, with academic and business buildings closed by 3 p.m. today and residence halls to be emptied by 6 a.m. tomorrow, school officials said.

The University of Central Florida in Orlando will suspend all campus activity Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, officials said.

The University of Florida in Gainesville will be shuttered starting at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, with hopes of operations starting again on Friday morning, UF said.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Milton is now a Category 5 — the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale for a storm — with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.

The storm is about 125 miles west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 735 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, the agency said at 11:55 a.m ET.

President Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall in the state, the White House said in a statement.

"The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures," the statement said.

Sarasota County authorities today strongly urged their 400,000-plus residents to leave as soon as possible with Hurricane Milton racing toward Florida's west coast.

Storm surge of 10 to 12 feet "is being predicted for our area," which is double that of the surge in the region during Hurricane Helene, said Sandra Tapfumaneyi, county emergency management chief.

While the county didn't make the evacuations mandatory, authorities did order everyone off nearby barrier islands.

Sheriff Kurt Hoddman said Milton will be stronger than Helene so the prudent action is to leave at once.

"Execute your plan today and get out of there," Hoddman said. "We escaped Hurricane Helene without any deaths in this county. I think it’s fair to say this is a different storm."

Hurricane Milton is rapidly intensifying and is forecast to reach a maximum Category 5 classification, officials said today.

Category 5 requires winds greater than 157 mph, and Milton had already registered at 155 mph by 10 a.m. ET today, 720 miles southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take off for New Orleans tomorrow, well in advance of their Week 6 contest against the host Saints, the NFL club announced.

NFL teams generally travel to road games a day or two ahead of kickoff.

But with Hurricane Milton quickly moving toward Tampa, the Bucs elected to move their weekly game prep to New Orleans, where they'll play the Saints at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Tampa International Airport officials announced they'll be suspending "all commercial and cargo operations" at 9 a.m. tomorrow and the airport will remain "closed to the public until it can assess any damage after the storm."

Hurricane Milton has the potential to bring "catastrophic storm surge, high winds and heavy rain to Tampa Bay and all of Florida’s Gulf Coast," according to an airport statement.

The state's fourth-busiest airport "anticipates reopening after a damage assessment that will begin as soon as it is safe to do so," the airport said.

Major airlines such as Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United and Virgin Atlantic run flights out of Tampa.

Hillsborough County issued a mandatory evacuation for Evacuation Zones A an B, for all mobile homes and manufactured housing starting at 2:30 p.m. today. Those residents should be in a safe location by 7 a.m. Wednesday. Nine shelters will be opened in mandatory evacuation zones. 

Sarasota County today also called for evacuations for those in levels A and B (which includes barrier islands), and those in mobile or manufactured homes. Those living in level C “should be prepared to evacuate if the storm intensifies.”

In the coastal city of Anna Maria, south of Tampa, a mandatory order begins at midday. Pinellas County has begun mandatory evacuations for long-term care facilities.

The National Hurricane Center said Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. NBC News’ Jesse Kirsch reports on how debris leftover from Hurricane Helene could become a hazard in Milton’s high speed winds.