Hurricane Milton churned toward Florida’s west coast with winds powerful enough to demolish houses, threatening to unleash once-in-a-century flooding across some of the state’s fastest-growing counties. Milton’s top winds dropped slightly to 155 miles (250 kilometers) per hour, making it a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.
Hurricane Milton churned toward Florida’s west coast with winds powerful enough to demolish houses, threatening to unleash once-in-a-century flooding across some of the state’s fastest-growing counties.
Milton is likely to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday at Category 4 just under that threshold, according to AccuWeather. There’s a chance it will strike just south of Tampa Bay, which could lead to winds pushing water west into St. Petersburg, a phenomenon that happened in 2022 when Hurricane Ian struck further south along the coast.
If Milton makes landfall even as a Category 3, the storm surge could threaten as many as 500,000 residential properties in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas, with a reconstruction cost of $123 billion, according to estimates from property data firm CoreLogic. If Milton arrives as a Category 4, 700,000 homes with a cost of $174 billion could be at risk, CoreLogic said.While Milton’s top winds may fall a bit before landfall, it will hold onto its surge as it comes ashore.
To help residents flee by land, Governor Ron DeSantis said roadway tolls have been suspended and shoulders will be used as travel lanes to help people leave.
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