Hurricane Milton live updates: Monster storm re-intensifies to Category 5 as Florida braces for direct hit

Hurricane Milton is now expected to make landfall slightly later, from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Thursday, between Tampa Bay and Fort Meyers, according to a new NBC News forecast.

The projection has Sarasota closest to the current expected position.

If that occurs, a maximum storm surge of 10 to 15 feet could happen south of Sarasota, with almost no surge in Tampa Bay — instead, the hurricane would blow water out of Tampa Bay.

Widespread wind damage and power outages are expected south of the Interstate 4 corridor, along with 12 to 18 inches of rain, according to the forecast. That would cause significant flooding.

Milton is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west-central coast late tomorrow or early Thursday, potentially putting Tampa in the crosshairs of the strongest Gulf of Mexico hurricane in nearly 20 years.

The last time a major hurricane directly hit Tampa Bay was more than a century ago, on Oct. 25, 1921. The incident became known as the Tarpon Springs Hurricane, and it was estimated to be a Category 3 storm when it made landfall, according to the National Weather Service.

A storm surge of up to 11 feet inundated downtown Tampa and Tarpon Springs, and peak winds of 75 mph were reported. A significant number of structures were destroyed, trees were downed, and many ships and steamers were smashed or became unmoored and ultimately sank, according to the NWS.

At least eight people died from storm-related causes. The hurricane also destroyed entire crop fields and degraded the soils because of saltwater intrusion, causing significant losses in the citrus and broader agricultural industries.

The Army has activated troops and readied equipment to help in recovery efforts as Hurricane Milton heads toward landfall in Florida.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency asked the Army to activate Title 10 troops, U.S. Army North said in a statement.

The Army has designated 30 high-wheeled vehicles, helicopters for search-and-rescue missions and 100 active-duty forces to help with non-technical logistical support to FEMA’s search-and-rescue teams, officials said.

Yesterday, U.S. Army North moved personnel and equipment from its command post to Fort Moore, Georgia, so it would be closer to Florida to support FEMA and any requests from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

U.S. Army North is the primary Defense Department group that supports federal agencies like FEMA when they respond to natural or humanmade disasters, officials said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said power line workers were being brought in from as far as California to help with what forecasters say will be lengthy power outages following Hurricane Milton and warned people in danger areas to leave.

“If you’re going to get out, get out now,” DeSantis said. “You have time, today. Time will be running out very shortly if you wait any longer.”

The state has helped evacuate 300 health care facilities in the potential path of the storm, he said.

In Hillsborough County, Florida, Milton is approaching while “a lot” of debris from Hurricane Helene remains uncollected, said Kim Byer, assistant administrator of the county’s public works administration.

“We probably only picked up about 5% so far. Remember, it’s been less than two weeks,” she said.

Crews that include contractors have been working to clear debris that piled up after Helene, which flooded the coasts and made landfall in the Big Bend area on Sept. 26, but there haven’t been enough time or resources, she said.

“A lot of our contractors have gone to prep for Hurricane Milton,” Byer said.

Coastal parts of Hillsborough County, which is home to Tampa, are under a storm surge warning, and the whole county and a huge swath of the state under hurricane warnings.

The damage in Yucatán, Mexico, as Hurricane Milton passed near the region offshore “wasn’t of a large magnitude,” Yucatán’s governor said this afternoon. 

“The damage that does exist is already being attended to immediately, and others will be in reconstruction in the coming days,” Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena said on social media.

He said economic activity, as well as government services, would be gradually returning to normal today now that the biggest threat from the storm has passed.

Schools will open tomorrow, he added.

He said the government would work “to guarantee that where there was structural damage, the necessary operations are carried out to re-establish them as quickly as possible.”

The country’s second-largest maker of IV fluids, B. Braun Medical, said it plans to temporarily close two of its Daytona Beach facilities tomorrow morning in anticipation of Hurricane Milton’s making landfall.

Last week, Hurricane Helene struck an IV fluid facility owned by the country’s largest manufacturer, Baxter International, in North Carolina, leading to its temporary closure and raising concerns about shortages. 

B. Braun Medical had been working with the federal government to increase the supply of IV fluids until the Baxter facility could come back online. 

“The Daytona Beach facility is a key part of our plan to help address the shutdown of Baxter’s IV solutions manufacturing facility in North Carolina,” Alli Longenhagen, a spokesperson for B. Braun Medical, said in a statement. “We are committed to doing everything we can to help ensure that patients have access to the IV therapies they need.”

More than 91% of Florida residents said they were concerned that hurricanes were getting stronger or becoming more frequent in a survey of Floridians’ views of climate change in March. 

About 90% of respondents in the survey, conducted by Florida Atlantic University researchers, said they believed climate change is happening — and more than two-thirds said they wanted the state government to do more about it. 

Climate change is changing hurricanes’ behavior, making them more likely to intensify rapidly, meaning they quickly pick up wind speed because of warm waters that act as fuel. It’s also increasing the likelihood of extreme rain, because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water.  

Colin Polsky, the director of FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability, which conducted the survey, said hurricanes like Milton and Helene have cut through political division over the issue. 

Hurricane Milton has strengthened back to Category 5, with winds of 165 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. ET advisory.

The hurricane weakened to Category 4 overnight, but forecasters had been expecting its strength to rebound as it continued east over the Gulf of Mexico.

The massive storm is about 480 miles southwest of Tampa.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency in anticipation of impacts from Hurricane Milton.

The order, which went into effect today and will last until Oct. 16, enables the state to provide assistance to people and communities affected by the storm. Milton is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west coast, but parts of Georgia are under a tropical storm watch and could be hit with strong winds and heavy rain as Milton crosses the Florida Peninsula.

Kemp today also extended a state of emergency for counties that are still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw joined Chris Jansing from Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers, to share more about how his city is bracing for the second major hurricane in two weeks.

Walt Disney World will close its theme parks and Disney Springs shopping center in the Orlando area tomorrow, according to its website.

After previously announcing the temporary closure of some guest accommodation locations, Walt Disney World said today that Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park will close at 1 p.m. tomorrow, and Magic Kingdom park, EPCOT and Disney Springs will close at 2 p.m. tomorrow. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom park is also canceled, but the resort said that event tickets will be refunded.

The resort also said it's likely that these parks will remain closed on Thursday, but that they'll consider opening Disney Springs late that afternoon, with limited offerings.

Officials in Pinellas County, which includes the cities of Clearwater and St. Petersburg, said they are expecting storm surge up to 15 feet and have issued mandatory evacuation orders for more than 500,000 residents.

Evacuation orders are in effect for people in zones A, B and C and all mobile homes in the county. Cathie Perkins, director of Pinellas County Emergency Management, said it’s a matter of when, not if, the area gets hit by Milton.

“We’re going to get hit, whether it’s a direct hit or it moves slightly,” Perkins said this afternoon in a news briefing. “There’s just no ifs or buts about it.”

She said the county will likely experience tropical storm conditions beginning tomorrow around 3 p.m. ET. Perkins said the predicted storm surge is “not survivable,” adding that the impacts will likely be much more devastating than from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

“This is the ocean coming into your living rooms,” Perkins said. “This is fast, rising water with a lot of pressure behind it. So don’t think that you’re going to be able to ride that out. Don’t think you’re going to be able to protect your building. It’s going to be pushing against the walls of your structure for hours and hours, and this is why we need you to go.”

The Florida Aquarium in Tampa is transferring its animals to safer ground in anticipation of Hurricane Milton, according to a news release. Nine penguins were moved this morning from their habitat on the first floor to higher ground. This will help protect them from the possibility of severe flooding at the aquarium.

Other animals moved today as part of the aquarium's hurricane preparedness plan include six snakes, three lizards, three turtles, two alligators, two toads and a hermit crab.

“Very strong and intense” rains from Hurricane Milton will continue today in the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán, officials there said.

But “the rains, wind and high waves will gradually decrease starting this afternoon, when the tropical cyclone begins to move away” from the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico’s National Meteorological Service said today as of 12 p.m. local time in Mexico City.

The service said that, due to the size of the hurricane, over the next few hours the storm would continue to bring intense rains of three to six inches in Yucatán and strong rains of about two to three inches in Campeche and Quintana Roo.

It was a rough ride into the eye of Hurricane Milton for a team of researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The researchers, known as “hurricane hunters,” posted footage on X of their turbulent flight. At one point, the aircraft was jostled so violently that some equipment and other objects went flying through the cabin, including one scientist’s phone and wallet.

Hurricane hunters fly through storms to gather data that can improve forecasts. Their findings also help researchers better understand how tropical storms and hurricanes develop and evolve.

NOAA maintains a fleet of three WP-3D turboprop aircraft — nicknamed Miss Piggy, Kermit and Gonzo — for these research missions.

Universal Studios in Orlando will close ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall tomorrow, the theme park announced.

Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk will be open until 2 p.m. tomorrow, Alyson Sologaistoa, vice president of public relations at Universal Orlando Resort, said in a statement. Some attraction and experience availability may be limited, the statement said. These areas will be closed on Thursday.

Universal Volcano Bay will be closed both Wednesday and Thursday, and Halloween Horror Nights is canceled both nights.

Sologaistoa said the resort anticipates a full reopening, including Halloween Horror Nights, on Friday, pending the outcome of storm impacts. Universal Orlando Resort is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.

As preparations continue for Hurricane Milton’s arrival, Florida’s Department of Corrections said it has moved 4,636 inmates, with additional evacuations still underway.

“Evacuation determinations are made in the best interest of the public, staff and inmate safety,” according to an update on the department's website. Officials said announcements about evacuations will only be made after they are complete.

A full list of facilities that were evacuated can be found on the Florida Department of Corrections website.

Gas stations in Florida are struggling to keep up with drastically increasing demand, according to fuel tank driver Jonathan "JT" Taylor.

"When you go from a station that normally sells 8,000 gallons to selling 40,000 gallons, the demand — you just can’t keep up. We’re just doing the best we can to keep everybody to hopefully where they need to evacuate," he said.

Taylor said he's been putting in extra hours as a result of increased gas demand, and that a trip that would normally take him 30 minutes now takes closer to two hours.

He advises Floridians stressed about gas shortages to "just hang in there."

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss how misinformation spread about Hurricane Helene is “very damaging” and to share more on the preparations underway ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Access to the barrier islands off the coast of southwest Florida, including Siesta Key, Casey Key, Manasota Key and Longboat Key, will close today at 7 p.m. ET, according to Sarasota County officials.

People will still be able to evacuate and get off the barrier islands, but after 7 p.m., the John Ringling Causeway and North Bridge to Siesta Key will be closed and no one will be able to access the islands until Milton passes and rescue missions have been completed, officials with the city of Sarasota posted on X.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, who is currently living aboard the International Space Station, captured jaw-dropping footage of Hurricane Milton as the orbiting lab soared over the storm this morning.

Dominick posted a time-lapse on X looking out the window of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The footage shows Milton’s eye and the storm’s expansive wall of clouds, as the hurricane barrels east over the Gulf of Mexico.

“Expect lots of images from this window as this is where I’m sleeping while we wait to undock and return to Earth,” he said in a separate post.

Dominick launched to the space station in early March along with two other NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut. The foursome was expected to return to Earth this week, but the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton forced NASA to stand down until Sunday, at the earliest.

The national spokesperson for the American Red Cross, Stephanie Fox, said volunteers had been already mobilized in Florida in response to Hurricane Helene and now are preparing for Hurricane Milton. Fox said the difference between the two is that preparing for Milton requires dealing with the mental ramifications and damage left by Helene.

Hurricane Milton was about 78 miles north of the fishing town Río Lagartos in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, as a Category 4 storm, Mexico’s National Meteorological Service said this morning.

The storm will bring “intense rains” of 3 to 6 inches and winds with gusts between 111 to 125 mph, surf of about 20 to 26 feet, and possible waterspouts in Yucatán, the government agency said at 9 a.m. local time in Mexico City.  

In the states of Campeche and Quintana Roo, the storm was also forecast to bring very strong rains of about 2 to 3 inches, wind with gusts between around 44 and 56 mph, waves of 6.5 to 13 feet and the possible formation of waterspouts, the service said.

“The precipitation generated by this tropical system could generate landslides, increases in the levels of rivers and streams, as well as overflows and floods in the mentioned states,” the advisory said.

Airlines canceled hundreds of flights, theme parks prepared to close some areas and cruise lines shifted routes as Floridians braced for Hurricane Milton’s landfall.

The Category 4 storm has top sustained winds near 145 miles per hour, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is expected to strike Florida’s west coast tomorrow. More than 50 Florida counties are under a state of emergency.

Tampa International Airport suspended operations at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday and said it would “reopen when safe to do so.”

Read the full story here.

The Florida Health Department is urging people to avoid floodwaters to prevent exposure to Vibrio, a flesh-eating bacteria, in anticipation of flooding from Hurricane Milton.

Vibrio bacteria are commonly found in warm coastal waters and can cause illness when open wounds are exposed to contaminated water. After heavy rainfall and flooding, like that expected from Milton, the concentration of these bacteria may rise.

Those who have compromised immune systems, liver disease or open wounds are at higher risk for Vibrio vulnificus, a life-threatening infection caused by Vibrio exposure.

Biden spoke to reporters after receiving a briefing on the preparations for Milton and warned it could be “the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century.”

The president urged those in danger to evacuate and pledged the federal government would remain in the area to help with recovery efforts after it passes. Biden also discussed ongoing recovery efforts from Helene and his decision to cancel a foreign trip to monitor the storm.

Milton is currently located 520 miles southwest of Tampa and is expected to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida tomorrow night, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.

Milton is a Category 4 storm with winds near 150 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center and winds of tropical storm force extend outward up to 105 miles, according to the agency. As such, the storm is expected to cause widespread damage when it makes landfall and as it moves east across central Florida through Thursday.

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

Milton is likely to bring up to 12 inches of rainfall, with localized totals up to 18 inches, across parts of Florida through Thursday. Intense rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening flash and urban flooding, together with moderate to major river flooding.

“Today is the last full day for Florida residents to get their families and homes ready and evacuate if told to do so by local officials,” the hurricane center said.

President Joe Biden has postponed his overseas trip this week because of Hurricane Milton, according to two sources familiar with the planning. 

Biden was scheduled to depart for Berlin on Thursday and then travel to Angola, returning to the U.S. on Oct. 15. It would mark the first time Biden would travel to Africa as president.

“Given the projected trajectory and strength of Hurricane Milton, President Biden is postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton, in addition to the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene across the Southeast,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Read the full article here.

The National Hurricane Center observed changes in Milton’s structure overnight, with telltale signs that the storm has completed what’s known as an eyewall replacement cycle.

This phenomenon occurs naturally and commonly with very strong storms. A hurricane’s eyewall consists of a ring of tall thunderstorms around the center of the hurricane that produces heavy rains and the most damaging winds.

As a hurricane intensifies, some of the storm’s outer rain bands can organize into a new ring of thunderstorms that slowly moves inward and “steals” moisture and energy from the existing eyewall.

When this happens, the hurricane tends to weaken and eventually the newly formed outer eyewall replaces the original one. After an eyewall replacement cycle is complete, storms tend to grow in size and can regain strength or become even stronger than they were.

Overnight, Milton weakened into a Category 4 storm, but forecasters are expecting it to intensify again into a Category 5 hurricane later today.

Some areas of Collier County, Florida, are under mandatory evacuation orders as of this morning. These include the City of Marco Island, Everglades City, Goodland, Chokoloskee and the city of Naples.

Mayor Liz Alpert of Sarasota said that ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall, evacuations are underway with many people taking storm preparations seriously. Milton is expected to bring 10 to 15-foot storm surges across the Florida coast.

Milton is expected to remain a major hurricane through landfall, forecast to take place between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. ET tomorrow into Thursday morning. It will remain at hurricane strength as it crosses the peninsula. 

Timing

West coast of Florida: Hurricane conditions expected in the warning area as early as tomorrow afternoon. Tropical storm conditions are expected in the tropical storm warning areas in Florida beginning early tomorrow and will spread northward through the day. 

East coast of Florida: Hurricane conditions forecast in the warning areas tomorrow night, with tropical storm conditions possible beginning late tomorrow afternoon.

Impacts

Storm surge: This is the greatest risk with Milton, with 10 to 15 feet of storm surge possible south of where the center makes landfall. As of this morning, Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice are most at risk for highest storm surge depending on exact track. The Anclote River to Englewood is forecast to see 10 to 15 feet of storm surge, an area that includes Tampa Bay.

Rainfall: Up to 5 to 12 inches of rain, with localized totals up to 18 inches, are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida Peninsula through Thursday. The heaviest rainfall will be along and north of the center of the hurricane. Major metros to watch for flash flooding include Tampa, Orlando and Daytona Beach.

Tornadoes: Tornado risk will be highest tomorrow with 14 million people at risk across the Florida Peninsula. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned this morning that "time is running out" to leave before Milton barrels into the state.

He told a news conference that storm surge isn't the only threat — given its magnitude, hurricane force winds will also reach across the peninsula.

“Basically the entire peninsula portion of Florida is under some type of either a watch or a warning,” he said in a storm briefing this morning. “You have time today. Time is running out. But you do have time today to heed any evacuation orders and do what you need to do to protect yourself and our families.”

Hurricane Milton has notched up some notable statistics in its short life that make it the strongest hurricane of the 2024 season so far, besting Category 5 Beryl which reached winds of 165 mph.

Milton went through “extreme rapid intensification” yesterday. That's defined as an increase of at least 58 mph in 24 hours — Milton strengthened 95 mph in 24 hours, a process connected to climate change.

The storm only took 18 hours to soar from a Category 1 to Category 5 hurricane, the highest rating.

Milton is also the strongest Gulf of Mexico hurricane in nearly 20 years, since Rita in 2005. It is also the strongest hurricane to ever from in the Gulf of Mexico so late in the year.

Storm surge and hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of Florida's eastern coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an update at 8.a.m. today.

There is now the threat of “life-threatening inundation” for a stretch of coastline from the Volusia-Brevard County Line, north of Orlando, to St. Mary's River, north of Jacksonville.

And a hurricane warning has been issued for the Indian River-St. Lucie County north to Ponte Vedra Beach, southeast of Jacksonville.

A tropical storm warning has also been issued for the southeast coast, covering the coast south of the Indian River-St. Lucie County line to Flamingo on the southern tip of the state.

With hurricane and surge warnings firmly in place for the western Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Milton is expected to land tomorrow, the risk is increasing for the east coast too.

As the region continues to reel from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, Florida residents are scrambling to clear the remaining debris as it could turn into projectiles when Hurricane Milton makes landfall. NBC’s Jesse Kirsch reports for "TODAY."

Florida residents are racing against time to prepare for Milton's blow by filling sandbags, boarding up windows and driving in mileslong gridlock traffic out of evacuation areas.

State officials say this is may the largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

There’s also a race to remove debris left over from Helene as soon as possible before Milton’s winds could turn them into dangerous projectiles. 

For some locals who lost everything in Helene, there hasn't been time to process their emotions.

“I haven’t allowed myself to kind of take in the emotional aspect,” Madeira Beach resident Abbey Lewis told NBC News. When asked what she'll come back home to after Milton, she said: “Well it's already gone. So, there's a lot of us not knowing where we'll go.”

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued a stark warning to locals who refuse to heed evacuation orders as Milton approaches. 

“I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” she told CNN yesterday. 

“We are talking about right now the possibility of a direct hit with 10 to 12 foot tidal surge. Put that in perspective, Hurricane Helene which just left the Tampa Bay Area, there was 6-foot storm surge and that was literally so devastating to those in our coastal area,” she explained.  

Tampa is part of Hillsborough County on the Gulf Coast which has issued a mandatory evacuation order for Zones A and B, all mobile homes and manufactured homes.

Several shelters have been opened in the county and the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority will run evacuation bus routes for those in need of transportation to shelters. 

The Saffir-Simpson scale measures the strength of hurricanes in five categories according to their sustained wind speed — 1 is the lowest and 5 the strongest and most serious.

On that scale, at 155 mph Milton is currently a Category 4 storm, just 2 mph shy of the 157 mph to reach Category 5.

Milton could weaken before it makes landfall tomorrow, but if it reaches the coast as a Category 4 it will cause "catastrophic damage," with serious damage to well-built homes and most trees and power poles in the affected area, which could be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the National Hurricane Center's guide says.

A Category 3 storm would still bring devastating damage, it says, with power lines downed and major damage to property.

Hurricane Milton poses a very high impact threat when it strikes the Florida coast tomorrow night. A 15-foot storm surge and 15 inches of rain are expected in some areas. NBC News meteorologist Michelle Grossman has the latest forecast on "Early TODAY."  

Less than two weeks after it was battered by Hurricane Helene, Pinellas County on Florida's West Coast is again preparing for an enormous and destructive storm.

A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for much of the county and for all mobile homes. It's a lot to take for weary residents.

"I have no home now to live in," Jody Powell told NBC affiliate WFLA of Tampa. “Now with this coming, I may not even have a building left on the on the property."

“It’s scary and frightening,” Mary Lu DeRose told WFLA. “Our first one was Helene, and this one is our second, so we’re a little scared.”

The barrier islands will be closed to all travel except for evacuations and debris pickup from 7 p.m. tonight and there are six emergency shelters across the county.

A seasoned weatherman had to pause on air while reporting on the severity of Hurricane Milton and how climate change had helped fuel the huge storm's progress through the Gulf of Mexico.

Hurricane specialist John Morales, of NBC affiliate WTVJ of South Florida, hesitated while explaining the storm's size and said: "I apologize, this is just horrific."

"The seas are just so incredibly, incredibly hot, record hot. You know what's driving that, I don't need to tell you, global warming and climate change," he said.

Morales said in his segment that the storm would pass very close to the northern edge of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, with winds of up to 165 mph. "These communities, as you might imagine, many folks have just the very basics, nothing else but that, so it's going to be very tough."

As for the impact forecast for Florida, Morales said: "You're going to find it very difficult for it to be any less than a major hurricane when it hits Florida."

The American Red Cross said it is “racing against the clock to mobilize volunteers, shelters and relief supplies” as a second hurricane in less than two weeks, this time Hurricane Milton, is on a path to strike Florida.

“People are still trying to find loved ones missing after Hurricane Helene and Red Cross reunification staff are working nonstop to try and reconnect them,” the Red Cross said in a statement, urging people with missing loved ones to complete a form and provide details.

The Red Cross said that climate change is making it increasingly common for it to be responding to more than one natural disaster at a time.

It also urged people elsewhere in the country to sign up to give blood, because Helene has disrupted thousands of donations and Milton could stress the supply even more.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Sept. 26.

Shelves of bottled water lie empty at a grocery store in St. Petersburg, Fla., yesterday, as local residents make emergency preparations for Hurricane Milton's arrival.

The Tampa Bay region is facing its second major hurricane in as many weeks after Helene brought widespread flooding to the region before making landfall along the Big Bend coast Sept. 26.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said city workers were part of an "all-hands" deployment working to clear city streets and waterways of debris that washed in from Helene's floodwaters.

In Pinellas County, which occupies the Tampa Bay peninsula, crews have been busy clearing debris from waterways, storm drains and roads as Milton threatens a near-direct hit.

An estimated 500 people from the Florida Transportation Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida State Guard, Florida National Guard, the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other entities that hire contract workers for government projects have been enlisted as haulers of trash and debris, much from Hurricane Helene, officials said.

The effort also included 200 dump trucks, which pulled 787 truckloads of trash and debris from parts of the county by the end of yesterday, the state Transportation Department said on social media platform X.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference yesterday that 12,000 cubic yards of debris has been removed from communities throughout the state so far.

"We're still going to have the debris removal operations, ongoing, all the way until we start to hit tropical-storm-force winds," he said.

Tampa Bay is under both a hurricane warning and a storm surge warning this morning, as the National Hurricane Center forecasts that it could be inundated with between 10 and 15 feet of storm surge waters.

The agency said that peak storm surge levels would be between the Anclote River and Englewood, a stretch of about 100 miles that includes Tampa and various islands and keys.

"The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline," the update said.

Employees move an African porcupine named Chompers to a pet carrier at Zoo Tampa yesterday, ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall in the middle of this week.Staff were seen moving items to protected areas.

A mother orangutan and her child look on before they are moved to safety.

Hurricane Milton is expected to increase in size as it approaches Florida, and while much attention will be paid to its center, the impact will be widely felt, National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said.

“Because we expect Milton to grow in size before it makes landfall, it’s going to spread the wind and storm surge impacts well away from the center,” he warned yesterday.

“So, let’s not focus so much on where the center may or may not track — because when it comes to what impacts you may feel, that can be incredibly misleading,” he said.

Storm surge warnings and watches covered the entire western coast of the Florida Peninsula late last night, with possible peak storm surge of 10 to 15 feet in areas.

Heavy traffic flows northbound on Interstate 75 as people evacuate the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, in Ocala, Fla., yesterday.

Hurricane Milton weakened slightly by early this moring to a Category 4 hurricane and was moving north of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of around 155 mph as of 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), the National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin, which would make it on the high end of a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

A Category 5 storm is winds 157 or higher. The hurricane is "extremely powerful," the hurricane center warned.

The center of the storm was around 65 miles north-northeast of Progreso, Mexico. It was moving east at 9 mph.

"The hurricane will likely make landfall in Florida Wednesday night," the hurricane center said.

Milton, which is already one of the most intense Atlantic storms in history, looks to be aiming directly for Tampa, forecasters say.

Because of its strength and size, it could be the worst storm the region has seen in more than 100 years.

Hurricane Milton’s recent history has 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.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced overnight that 144 first responders are being deployed to assist officials in Florida ahead of Milton's projected landfall.

The personnel are being assembled from three federal disaster response teams to help with emergency operations and search and rescue assignments, Newsom's office said in a statement.

The first responders are part of the nation's 28 U.S. Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams that can be deployed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help out with disasters in all corners of the nation.

Each team has 70 members, usually managed by a fire department but including members from neighboring agencies, who have trained in search and rescue operations, medical response, hazardous materials, structural engineering, and logistics, according to FEMA.

Newsom's office said 140 personnel from multiple Southern California fire departments were sent to the Southeast to assist with rescue and recovery after Hurricane Helene, which has been blamed for 238 deaths in six states.