Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night

WASHINGTON — Florida is bracing for a powerful hurricane to make landfall tonight.  Milton is a major hurricane and expected to land just south of the Tampa Bay area. Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend.  It rapidly intensified and  will make landfall south of Tampa between 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday night.  

The storm is a Category 2 hurricane on track to weaken slightly as it approaches the Florida Gulf Coast with winds up to 110 mph. Click here for National Hurricane Center guidance. 

From a barometric pressure standpoint (a measure of storm intensity), Milton topped-out as the 5th strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane ever recorded Monday afternoon and evening before undergoing some slight weakening. 

Strongest Atlantic Hurricanes

1. Wilma (882 mb) (2005)
2. Gilbert (888 mb) (1988)
3. Labor Day Hurricane (892 mb) (1935)
4. Rita (895 mb) (2005)
5. Milton (897 mb) (2024)

Local Impact:
The DMV will not see any impacts from Milton. 

Threats:
The west coast of Florida will see life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and heavy rainfall that could lead to flooding. The whole state will have the threat of tornadoes.

Storm Surge Forecast:

• Anna Maria Island: 10 - 15 ft.
• Boca Grande: 10 - 15 ft.
• Tampa Bay: 8 - 12 ft.
• Bonita Beach: 8 - 12 ft.
• Jacksonville: 3 - 5 ft.
• Big Bend region: 1 - 3 ft.

Forecast Timing:

Wednesday (10/9): Milton approaches the Florida Gulf Coast this evening with damaging wind, tornadoes and downpours, and tornadoes becoming increasing likely. Milton is forecast to only weaken slightly as it makes landfall as a major, Category 3 hurricane late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning near or just south of  Tampa, Florida. A storm surge of 10 - 15 feet is forecast near the center of the track over and to the south of Tampa Bay.

Thursday (10/10): Milton will pass over the Florida Peninsula overnight and early Thursday morning and weaken to a Category 1 as it pushes east toward the Orlando area on the East Coast. The storm will move back into the Atlantic by Thursday afternoon and continue to weaken.