Hurricane Milton live updates: What’s happening in Florida right now with weather, roads
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Here’s what to know about Hurricane Milton in Florida on Tuesday. This live updates report will be updated throughout the day.
Top stories from Hurricane Milton
▪ The latest on Hurricane Milton’s track: Hurricane Milton regained Category 5 status in Tuesday’s 11 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Sustained winds were 160 mph. Milton could lash Orlando’s theme parks as a Category 1 hurricane before exiting along the Space Coast.
▪ Impact on South Florida: All of South Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties, is under a tropical storm warning Tuesday through Thursday.
▪ Storm surge: Tampa Bay area could see 15 feet of storm surge as early as Wednesday morning.
READ MORE: How much storm surge will Hurricane Milton bring to Florida? See the risk by area
Florida could see Category 4 landfall
As of the 11 p.m. weather advisory, the National Hurricane Center now predicts that Hurricane Milton will only weaken to a Category 4 — not a Category 3 — when it makes landfall in the Tampa Bay region.
The precise location of landfall remains unknown as the storm may continue shifting in the coming hours, forecasters noted. Regardless, Milton will still hit the state as one of the most destructive hurricanes on record.
It’s moving northeast at 12 mph and about 405 miles southwest of Tampa.
— DEVOUN CETOUTE
Tri-Rail, Brightline and Amtrak suspended
All passenger railways in South Florida suspended some routes on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for Hurricane Milton.
The Tri-Rail, which runs from the Miami airport to Palm Beach County, is suspending all service on both days. Brightline is halting their trains from West Palm Beach and Orlando; their South Florida stations will run as scheduled.
Amtrak is also suspending service through Thursday between Jacksonville and Miami.
READ MORE: Hurricane Milton halts Tri-Rail, Brightline, Amtrak in South Florida. Here are details
Hard Rock concert postponed
Pop duo For King + Country’s Thursday night Oct. 10 concert at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. due to Milton.
If you already bought tickets for the Oct. 10 concert they will remain valid for the rescheduled date. If you can’t make the new Nov. 5 date Hard Rock says you can get refunds at the point of purchase up to the newly scheduled date.
Plane crashes into Tampa Bay
A six-passenger Cherokee plane crashed 300 yards east of the St. Petersburg Pier and sank into Tampa Bay Tuesday after its engine failed taking off from Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Times reports. It appears the four passengers, and a dog, were evacuating ahead of Hurricane Milton said Ashlie Handy, a spokesperson for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue. The passengers, and the dog, were rescued, WFLA News Channel 8 reported.
Biden delays diplomatic travel
President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is postponing a diplomatic trip to Germany and Angola to help oversee his administration’s response to Hurricane Milton.
“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century,” Biden said at a news briefing. “God willing it won’t be, but that’s what it is looking like right now.”
The White House has approved the pre-landfall emergency declaration in Florida and FEMA Administration Deanne Criswell is working with state and local officials in Florida ahead of landfall.
FEMA is providing 300 ambulances to help people move to safety from healthcare facilities. And as people evacuate, Biden urged airline companies not to gouge prices and to keep things “on the level.”
— ANA CEBALLOS
Hurricane Center 11 a.m. update
The 11 a.m. Tuesday update from the National Hurricane Center showed Category 4 Hurricane Milton strengthening, now with 150 mph maximum sustained winds.
It completed an eyewall replacement cycle, where another, larger eye forms and envelops the original one. That left the storm slightly weaker for a few hours but with a larger wind field. By the time Milton makes landfall — likely as a Category 3 — forecasters expect it to have doubled in size, bringing its damaging winds, flooding rains and deadly storm surge to a broader swath of Florida.
The center of the projected area where the eye could make landfall remained on the south side of Tampa Bay, over Bradenton. As of the 11 a.m. it was still moving east-northeast at 9mph, a steady pace from earlier in the day. It was about 520 miles southeast of Tampa, Florida.
— ALEX HARRIS
DeSantis says Milton could leave a mark on Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Floridians Tuesday to be ready for Hurricane Milton, which he said could leave an “indelible mark” on the state.
“Looking at how big this storm is, there’s going to be significant damage in parts of Florida,” he said.
Evacuations are underway in at least 14 counties, and DeSantis said the highways in west-central Florida had 150% of normal traffic. Officials waived tolls and opened up the breakdown lanes for extra traffic flow.
Jared Perdue, head of Florida’s Department of Transportation, urged residents who wanted to evacuate to hit the road immediately and not wait.
“Please do not wait until the last minute to leave,” he said. “Unfortunately every storm we see traffic fatalities because people wait until the last minute to leave.”
The state plans to open extra shelters in warehouses near the highway, so that drivers who are stuck in traffic as Milton approaches have a place of last resort to retreat to. One of the first four the state will open can hold up to 10,000 people, the governor said.
— ALEX HARRIS
Did DeSantis and Biden talk about hurricane?
A day after reports came out that Gov. Ron DeSantis had been dodging calls from the White House, Biden said he has been personally in contact with the Florida governor.
He said he talked to DeSantis on Monday night and made clear to him and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor that they can reach out to him directly with anything the state may need as a result of the storm.
“I made it clear to them that they can reach out, including to me directly, with anything they may need as the storm hits,” Biden said. “I gave them my personal number to contact me at the White House.”
Biden was asked about the risks political figures pose when they share misinformation during this emergency.
“Look, those who do it, do it to try and damage the administration,” Biden said. “It is un-American. It really is.”
Biden expressed frustration at the political motivations but did not name any politician in particular. Instead, Biden said the political talk misleads people and makes them think they will not be helped.
“People are scared to death. People know their lives are at stake. All that they worked for, all that they own, all that they value,” Biden said.
“It’s just… it’s just…anyway,” Biden said, shaking his head as the news briefing ended.
— ANA CEBALLOS
Cleaning up from Helene?
Florida is working double-time to help Gulf Coast counties clean up all the debris left over from Hurricane Helene. Roads are still lined with appliances, cabinets, furniture and ripped-out drywall, as well as the occasional stray boat.
Kevin Guthrie, head of Florida’s department of emergency management, said he was writing a letter to FEMA on Tuesday to urge the agency to allow Florida to pay debris haulers even more, in hopes of attracting out-of-state trash haulers to come help.
However, officials acknowledged that it likely wouldn’t be enough, and some trash will remain when Milton’s winds begin to pick up on Wednesday.
“It may not have been humanly possible to have all the debris cleaned up from Helene before Milton hit, just because of how much there was,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday.
— ALEX HARRIS