Hurricane Milton tracker: Storm strengthens into dangerous Category 4, Florida prepares for massive evacuations

Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified Monday morning, strengthening into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of around 150 mph as it took aim at a Florida Gulf Coast, which is still reeling from Helene’s record-breaking landfall just over a week ago. Millions are facing the prospect of evacuation as Milton gains steam along its path toward the Tampa Bay area, where it is expected to make landfall Wednesday evening.

Speaking at a press conference Monday alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s director of emergency management, Kevin Guthrie, urged those in the Tampa Bay area to evacuate.

“I beg you. I implore you,” Guthrie said. “Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave.”

DeSantis said Monday that 51 counties in Florida are now under a state of emergency, and a pre-landfall declaration request has been made to FEMA for support in anticipation of the hurricane’s arrival.

In a statement issued Sunday, the White House said that President Biden had been briefed on the situation — including the hurricane’s “potential impacts” on the Florida Gulf Coast and the work the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is doing in advance of the storm.

The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch for the coast of Mexico from Celestún to Cabo Catoche, and a tropical storm warning from Celestún to Cancun, according to the NHC. Those in the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys and the northwestern Bahamas are also being urged to monitor its progress.