TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties are under a flood watch from Sunday to Thursday, as a disturbance was over South Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton’s Florida Gulf Coast landfall Wednesday.
As of the latest advisory, Milton has strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane, with the pressure dropping to 954 millibars.
As of 9 a.m., Milton was spinning over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, packing winds of 120 mph and moving east-southeast at 8 mph. Milton was located approximately 750 miles west-southwest of Tampa Bay, Florida.
The projected path remains headed toward the east, with the storm expected to impact the west coast of Florida. Life-threatening storm surge and heavy rain are major concerns for the area.
A tropical storm watch is now in effect for the middle, upper, and lower Keys, while the southwestern part of the state is under a hurricane watch.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate across the region as we move into Tuesday and Wednesday.
North Miami Beach was among the cities distributing sandbags to help residents in flood-prone areas prepare for the risk of storms as a hurricane remained on Florida’s forecast.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Saturday afternoon that he declared a state of emergency in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties.
HURRICANE SPECIALIST: Milton stronger, forecast to strike Florida’s west coast as a major hurricane this week
DeSantis’s executive order followed the National Hurricane Center’s forecast that Tropical Storm Milton would strengthen into a hurricane, land in western Florida, and cross the state to the Atlantic.
It was still too soon to determine the specifics of the hurricane’s Florida landfall next week, but the Tampa Bay area was highly likely.
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WEATHER AUTHORITY
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