Hurricane Watches posted in Florida as Milton continues to rapidly intensify in Gulf

The first Hurricane Watches have been posted along Florida’s west coast as millions of people across the region prepare for dangerous impacts from Hurricane Milton, such as a life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds and flooding rain.A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Florida’s Gulf Coast from Chokoloskee to the mouth of the Suwanee River, including Tampa Bay.A Storm Surge Watch was also issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast from Flamingo northward to the Suwannee River, including Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay.Tropical Storm Watches have also been issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast.“Milton is rapidly intensifying,” the National Hurricane Center wrote Sunday night.“Satellite images indicate very deep convection in the eyewall and hints of an eye starting to appear.”Florida Gov.

Ron DeSantis and other state officials held a news conference on Sunday morning and said evacuations are likely, and time is running out to prepare for the hurricane’s potentially deadly impacts.“I urge Floridians to finalize your storm preparations now; enact your plan,” Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said.“I highly encourage you to evacuate.

We are preparing, and I have the State Emergency Response Team preparing, for the largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma.”If Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida, it will be the third to do so this season following the landfalls of Debby in August and Helene in September.The situation has been rapidly unfolding, with forecasters at the National Hurricane Center (NHC) first designating the storm as Tropical Depression Fourteen early Saturday morning, then hours later issuing a special alert announcing the development of Tropical Storm Milton.About 24 hours later, Milton intensified into a hurricane early Sunday afternoon. With the latest advisory from the NHC, Milton is forecast to continue to rapidly intensify, reaching Category 4�...