“Monster” Milton expected to hit Florida as Cat. 3 after intensifying to 5; Tampa airport closes

Florida is bracing for impact as Hurricane Milton, which briefly became a Category 5 storm before returning to Category 4, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday (Oct. 9).

Milton is packing ferocious winds of up to 155mph (250km/h) as it barrels past the northern edge of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Forecasters from the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) say "potentially catastrophic" storm surges are possible along coastal areas.

The storm is forecast to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, says the NHC, and as reported by CNN, coming ashore anywhere from Cedar Key in the north to Naples in the south, possibly in the Tampa or Fort Myers areas.

“Several places may experience tornado damage with a few spots of considerable damage, power loss, and communication failures,” the National Weather Service office in Miami added.

Milton, which has been described as monstrous due to its growing size, arrives less than two weeks after Florida was hit by Hurricane Helene, which left its own trail of death and destruction.

Floridians have been told to brace for what’s being called Florida’s largest evacuation effort in years.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned that time for people to evacuate is quickly running out.

"We have to assume this is going to be a monster," DeSantis said at press conference on Monday afternoon, as officials warned of the storm's category five status.

Uber is partnering with the Florida Division of Emergency Management to offer free rides to and from shelters for evacuating locals, the agency announced Tuesday.

Those evacuating can use the promo code “MILTONRELIEF” on the Uber app for a ride to or from a state-approved shelter.

Hundreds of thousands of people are preparing to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, and officials have warned that traffic will be congested as resident leave storm areas.

“There will be several hours of congestion,” Florida Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie said Monday. “Traffic is going to be bad while people evacuate.”

The Weather Prediction Centre has increased the rainfall threat for Wednesday to a rare “high” risk.

The centre is warning “widespread and numerous instances of flash flooding are expected with life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding probable.”

 "Doubling in size"

Hurricane Milton is expected to regain Category 5 strength on Tuesday and maintain that level through the day, before dipping to a Category 3 hurricane late Wednesday.

“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” the hurricane centre said. “Milton is still a relatively compact hurricane, but the wind field is expected to continue to grow in size as it approaches Florida. In fact, the official forecast shows the hurricane and tropical-storm-force winds roughly doubling in size by the time it makes landfall.”

Cruise & air respond  

Florida’s cruise industry has adjusted some itineraries to avoid Milton’s wrath.

As previously reported, Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Margaritaville at Sea have changed some schedules for ships, offering alternative ports of call and sail times. Disney Cruise Line and Virgin Voyages have also advised passengers to stand by for updates.

Virgina’s Valiant Lady, for one, is keeping on course, outrunning Milton as she sails toward Costa Maya.

Port Tampa Bay, which sits in Milton’s path, may be closed for days.

Passengers on the next sailings of Carnival Paradise and Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas could also see their voyages shortened or cancelled altogether due to the port closure.

Canadian airlines have also activated flexible rebooking policies for flights to impacted regions.

Air Canada has revised its ticketing policy to make it easier for customers travelling on an affected flight to make changes to their booking without penalty (space permitting).

A flexible policy up until Oct. 11 applies to flights heading to Miami, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Orlando. A similar waiver also applies to Cancun, up until Oct. 8. Click here for more.

WestJet, too, has waivers on flights to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Fort Myers, FL until Oct. 10. Click here for details.

Sunwing, meanwhile, is advising customers travelling to and from Cancun over the next 24-48 hours to sign up for flight alerts and check their flight status for the most up-to-date information.

There’s a “potential for flights to be impacted,” the carrier wrote on its website. “We continue to closely monitor the situation and will provide further updates as available.” 

Tampa’s airport is set to close at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning and will reopen "when safe to do so," the facility wrote on its X account.  Airports in Sarasota/Bradenton and St. Petersburg will also close. 

More than 340 flights at Tampa’s airport have been cancelled for Tuesday, including more than 25 flights between Atlanta and Tampa, according to FlightAware.com.

Orlando International Airport (MCO) said it will suspend commercial operations at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) said no commercial flights will operate Wednesday and Thursday.

Miami International Airport (MIA) said Monday that it was open and monitoring Hurricane Milton. It encouraged travellers to confirm their flight status. 

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) said on Monday that it remained open and was monitoring the storm.

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) said it was open and operational Monday. "We will announce any change in operations on social media and on our website at pbia.org," it said.

This is a developing story, 

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