Tropical Storm Milton is strengthening and expected to become a major hurricane when it makes landfall in Florida this week, just days after the southeast was ravaged by Hurricane Helene, the National Hurricane Center said in a forecast discussion via NBC News.
Milton is reportedly evolving rapidly into "an intense hurricane with multiple life-threatening hazards" ahead of its expected path through the coastline north and south of the Tampa Bay region. The storm is reportedly expected to reach hurricane status Sunday (October 6) night with 74 MPH sustained winds before registering as a Category 3 with 111 MPH sustained winds in less than 72 hours.
Milton was reported to be 365 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, which is located 855 west-southwest of the Tampa region, with maximum sustained winds estimated to be 45 MPH at 2:00 a.m. ET on Sunday. The storm was reportedly "moving slowly but expected to strengthen rapidly" according to the National Hurricane Center, which expected a "risk of life-threatening impacts increasing for portions of the Florida west coast."
A tropical storm warning was already in effect for the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, which stretched from Celestun to Cancun, as of Sunday morning. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also preemptively declared a state of emergency for 35 counties on Saturday (October 5) as the state continues its recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene's devastation.