Hurricane Milton to make landfall as Category Six

Residents of Florida are bracing for Hurricane Milton. Some protect their homes and shops by boarding up windows and stocking up with food and water, while others simply leave the state.

The authorities of Florida called for 5.5 million people to evacuate. The evacuation began on Monday, October 8. Hurricane Milton is to make a landfall on Wednesday, October 10.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned residents that if they decide to stay in the evacuation area, they will die.

The hurricane itself may become a record-breaking storm and reach the not yet existing category six, experts interviewed by Newsweek said. Hurricane Milton may bring catastrophic damage less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the same area.

Details

Hurricane Milton is an extremely powerful tropical cyclone, the strongest worldwide in 2024, currently located in the Gulf of Mexico approaching the U.S. state of Florida, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated the state's Big Bend region. The thirteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, fourth major hurricane, and second Category 5 hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, Milton formed from a long-tracked tropical disturbance which originated in the western Caribbean Sea and consolidated in the Bay of Campeche on October 5. The storm then underwent explosive intensification, and became a Category 5 hurricane on October 7. At peak intensity, the hurricane was the fifth-most intense in the Atlantic on record. Milton then weakened back to Category 4 strength due to an eyewall replacement cycle before regaining strength and becoming a Category 5 hurricane again.