Hurricane Milton takes direct aim at Tampa, massive evacuations ordered (2024)

OCALA, Fla.—

Hurricane Milton remained a powerful Category 4 storm Tuesday morning that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg as it moves past Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and toward central Florida. The hurricane, which gained strength with stunning speed on Monday, prompted authorities to warn of towering storm surges. Landfall is expected Wednesday night.

The storm is predicted to strike the densely populated coastal zone that includes Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Myers. It is forecast to generate an ocean surge that could inundate the hardest-hit areas with 10 to 15 feet of water, resulting in extensive damage and potentially costing billions of dollars. Milton has prompted what could be Florida’s largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever,” Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor said on a CNN broadcast. “If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”

“Bottom line: If Milton stays on its course this will be the most powerful hurricane to hit Tampa Bay in over 100 years. No one in the area has ever experienced a hurricane this strong before,” the weather service wrote just before 2 p.m. Eastern time Monday.

With winds reaching up to 155 mph, the storm is expected to grow in size but weaken to a Category 3 before making landfall. The hurricane hit 180 mph on Monday. Evacuation orders were issued across the west coast of the state, urging residents, especially those in low-lying areas or in mobile homes, to leave by Tuesday. The National Weather Service suggested residents who live outside the storm surge area and plan to stay should gather supplies and plan for at least a week without power or water.

“We’re starting to see some less-than-cordial Tampa Bay behavior at some of our gas stations,” Castor said Tuesday morning, asking for patience while tankers work to refill empty gas stations.

Around 15% of all Florida’s gas stations were out of fuel, according to GasBuddy’s Hurricane Milton Tracker, almost 1,200 out of the state’s 7,900 total stations.

Despite outages and long lines at gas stations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday morning that there was no fuel shortage and that officials were working with fuel companies to bring in gasoline.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis said. “You can evacuate tens of miles; you do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”

The threat of Milton brought one local broadcaster to near tears: “I apologize, this is just horrific,” John Morales, a broadcaster for NBC6 South Florida said on air, becoming emotional while discussing the storm’s rapid intensification. “You know what’s driving that. I don’t need to tell you: Global warming, climate change [are] leading to this.”

Residents in the region are still cleaning up two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall 150 miles north of Tampa Bay in the Big Bend area of the state and continued north to wreak devastation in the southern Appalachians, killing 230. Leftover debris from Helene needs to be cleared so that it will not become projectiles when Milton hits, DeSantis said Monday.

Helene, with an indirect hit, brought storm surges of 5 to 8 feet to Tampa Bay.

The storm’s initial path is reminiscent of Hurricane Irma in 2017, where a slight shift “threaded the needle” between major cities after causing “the largest evacuation in Florida’s history,” the Tampa Bay Times reported. Irma still devastated the Florida Keys but caused far less damage than initially predicted. The memory left some Tampa Bay residents less inclined to evacuate, the Associated Press reported, although west-central Florida tolls were suspended and highway shoulders were opened for motorists evacuating.

President Biden postponed a planned trip this week to Germany and Angola because of the storm, explaining, “I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time.”

Asked about DeSantis, a Republican who has complained about Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments about Helene, Biden said he “has been cooperative” and “said he’s gotten all that he needs.”

“Please don’t get political on this,” Castor said. The mayor said she’d been in contact with both Biden and DeSantis ahead of the storm, following reports that DeSantis denied calls from Harris regarding storm preparation.

DeSantis appeared on Fox News with Sean Hannity on Monday evening, denouncing Harris’ suggestion that he was performing “political gamesmanship” ahead of the storm.

“She has no role in this process,” he said, saying he was laser-focused on storm preparation and recovery.