4 Things Floridians Need To Know About Hurricane Milton

Keep in mind that both coasts of Florida need to be prepared because Milton will have extreme impacts that will not only be felt on the west coast of Florida, but the east coast as well.

1. Milton’s perpendicular approach will impact storm surge

Milton has rapidly intensified in the Gulf of Mexico and will approach the Florida coast midweek. The storm could strike the coast of Florida perpendicularly, which is very important. A storm like Milton that makes a perpendicular landfall will create a higher storm surge than one that parallels the coast or makes landfall at an oblique angle.

This will create a life-threatening storm surge for the west coast of Florida. The National Hurricane Center has forecast a storm surge as high as 12 feet for parts of the state if the peak surge arrives at high tide. Of course, this will change slightly if the track shifts. The highest storm surge will be experienced close to the center of the storm and just south of where the storm makes landfall.

2. Milton’s wind field will be more compact than Helene’s

Helene was an incredibly large storm, with tropical-storm-force winds stretching more than 300 miles from the center. Milton is a much more compact storm, with tropical-storm-force winds extending roughly 80 miles from the center as of Monday morning. Milton is expected to grow in size on its journey across the Gulf of Mexico, but not reach the size Helene was.

Therefore, we can expect wind damage to be not as far-reaching with Milton. However, it’s important to remember that areas around Milton's landfall location could suffer major wind damage due to the intensity of the storm. Milton is expected to be a major hurricane at landfall.

3. Milton has very warm water to feed off in the Gulf of Mexico

Warm water is just one factor that helps hurricanes grow stronger – it acts like fuel for the storm. However, once Milton gets closer to Florida’s coast, it’s expected to encounter stronger wind shear which could weaken it slightly.

Even with slight weakening, the forecast is still for Milton to make landfall as a major hurricane.

4. Rain from a sagging cold front will persist ahead of Milton

Florida has been getting quite a bit of rain from a cold front that’s stalled over the state.

Parts of west Florida have already received several inches of rain from the stalled front. This has saturated the soils and left the state even more vulnerable to flooding from Milton.

The storm is forecast to bring as much as 5 to 15 inches of rain where the heaviest rain bands from Milton set up. It will be moving at a decent pace by the time it reaches Florida, which will help keep rainfall amounts lower than they would be with a slower-moving storm.

All of these details about Hurricane Milton will be tweaked in the hours and days ahead as the forecast becomes more precise. It’s important to pay close attention to each forecast update and adjust your hurricane plans accordingly.