Ron DeSantis 5 p.m. update on Milton shows hurricane may shift south of Tampa

miltonupdate
Models show Milton could make landfall between Tampa and Charlotte County but DeSantis warned those advisories could change by Wednesday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his warnings for the West Coast of Florida as Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico keeps churning toward the Sunshine State.

DeSantis had a few updates from the briefing earlier Sunday morning. Most notably, the trajectory of Milton may now move a bit south from its original projection of hitting the Tampa Bay area Wednesday afternoon. The storm, still about 800 miles south, southwest of Tampa, has strengthened to about 85 mph winds, up from the 80 mph winds earlier Sunday. It’s projected to grow to a Category 3 storm by Wednesday. It was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane midday Sunday.

Whether the storm hits the Tampa area or south in the Sarasota or Charlotte County area, the governor said every county on the Gulf Coast of Florida should be on alert and some areas have already been told to evacuate.

“There’s just no way of saying” where the center of the storm will hit, DeSantis said, adding 51 Florida counties are now under a state of emergency he declared Saturday.

“Have a plan. Execute the plan. Now is the time to do it,” DeSantis said. “For Southwest Florida, don’t get wedded to where the storm is now. A lot can change.”

DeSantis advised that a storm surge is likely to hit the entire Southwest Florida coast as Milton barrels toward landfall. He said the state has assembled 600 ambulances that will be ready to assist. Thousands of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel are also prepared to help with transportation measures.

DeSantis also urged that debris cleanup in multiple counties after the disaster caused by Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26 will continue in all counties impacted. He said that it would continue 24 hours a day, every day until Milton slams Florida.

Feeder bands and outer reach rain bands from Milton have already caused cloud cover Sunday over much of the Florida peninsula. The Southwest Florida Coast from Naples north to about Sarasota got hit with hard rain much of Sunday.

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said Gulf Coast residents should consider evacuations now. In many counties, mandatory evacuation orders have already been issued.

The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and EV charging stations along evacuation routes and “identified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes,” Guthrie said. He said that people who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who don’t depend on constant electricity, and who aren’t in evacuation zones should probably avoid the roads.

As Milton approaches, all classes and school activities in St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County are preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday. Tampa opened city garages for free so people could park their cars safely from the subsequent floodwaters.

DeSantis said that as many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews remove debris, and he directed that Florida crews be dispatched to North Carolina in Helene’s aftermath and return to the state to prepare for Milton.

The hurricane center said Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, and the northwestern Bahamas should monitor the system’s progress. Heavy rainfall was expected Sunday before the storm itself and will likely combine with Milton’s rainfall to flood waterways and streets in Florida. Forecasters said up to a foot (30 centimeters) of rain could fall in places through Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Kirk diminished to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday, with top winds of 105 mph (165 kph), sending large swells and “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” to Bermuda and northward along the U.S. and Canadian coasts, the center said. Hurricane Leslie was also moving over the Atlantic Ocean, well away from land, with top winds of 85 mph (140 kph).

Drew Dixon

Drew Dixon is a journalist of 40 years who has reported in print and broadcast throughout Florida, starting in Ohio in the 1980s. He is also an adjunct professor of philosophy and ethics at three colleges, Jacksonville University, University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville. You can reach him at [email protected].


9 comments

  • A Day without MAGA

    October 6, 2024 at 5:45 pm

    Desantis is not a meteorologist,I told you about the storm,a week ago,I am not a meteorologist,but I can read a synopsis weather chart, tomorrow track will be the dead reckoning track towards Florida Sarasota is in the eyewall Google Zoomearth Port Charlotte

    • Hurricanes are Democrats!

      October 7, 2024 at 12:51 pm

      Hurricanes are bad mmmmk it’s time we rise up and keep them out of our MAGA state! Build a wall keep the Mexican hurricane illegals out of our state. Send the boats to intercept!! Burn the books of meteorology, ban the term hurricane. You can eliminate hurricanes if you just tried. We are helpless without our dictator! There has to be something you can do save us from this woke indoctrination!

  • THE SAGE "E"

    October 6, 2024 at 5:48 pm

    Good evening America,
    The National Hurricane Center is under orders from the Harris Administration to try and balance:
    1.) Not killing too many citizens.
    While:
    2.) Trying desperatly to blaim “THE WEATHER” on mankind “SOMEHOW” doing “THE IMPOSSABLE” and affecting “THE WEATHER”.
    It’s like “If only we can convince “The Chumps” to pay more in “TAXES” it would be really great.
    IN CLOSING:
    The “HARRIS ADMINISTRATION” is killing our citizens just to squeeze more tax out of us.
    VOTE ACCORDINGLY:
    For Trump … its the only sane thing to do.
    Thank you America,
    THE SAGE “E”

  • THE SAGE "E"

    October 6, 2024 at 5:58 pm

    And furthermore,
    Everyone is hereby “STERNLY ENCOURAGED” to STOP referencing the current administration as “BIDEN’S”.
    Henceforth:
    All truth telling Americans are to, going forward, to reference the current administration as “THE HARRIS ADMINISTRATION”.
    Incase you havent noticed, BIDEN, checked out 3 years ago.
    IN CLOSING:
    Repeat this 10 or more times:
    THE HARRIS ADMINISTRATION
    THE HARRIS ADMINISTRATION
    THE HARRIS ADMINISTRATION
    … and so on until you have it FORVER CEMENTED IN “Top Of Mind.
    Thank you America,
    THE SAGE “E”

    • Paul

      October 6, 2024 at 8:26 pm

      You’re an idiot…

      • Sane human

        October 7, 2024 at 9:11 pm

        Thanks for that. Guy is off his meds

  • Ominous

    October 6, 2024 at 8:35 pm

    So much for paying rent I just got out of that..
    I have the title on the door.

  • CW

    October 7, 2024 at 8:48 am

    I’ve lived in Florida all my life (60+ years). This new phenomenon of a political party controlling the weather is asinine. Hurricanes have no political affiliation. Put away the tin foil hats and get the shutters ready. The storm surge and winds from Milton are going to be extreme. Be safe west coast folks.

Comments are closed.


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