Hurricane Milton—which weakened overnight from a Category 5 to Category 4 storm—has caused mass evacuations, cruise departure cancelations, resort closures and more in Florida.
The latest from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) says that Milton will bring storm surges of 12-plus feet to areas of Florida’s west-central coast, including Tampa Bay and the surrounding area. The NHC says “this is an extremely life-threatening situation.” It adds that “devastating hurricane-force winds” are expected in portions of the state’s western coast. Heavy rainfall, which would bring about flash and urban flooding, are expected through Thursday.
Hundreds of flights from and into Florida airports, including Tampa International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, have been canceled as of Tuesday morning, according to FlightAware. Newsweek reports that Tampa, St. Pete-Clearwater, Sarasota Bradenton, Southwest Florida and Orlando International Airport, among others, plan to close either Tuesday night after the last flight or Wednesday morning. Miami International Airport plans to remain open. Airlines including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United have issued waivers/advisories regarding travel to Florida.
Walt Disney World is currently open and operating under normal conditions. Some areas, including Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, will close this week. Universal Orlando also says it is open and operating as normal.
Inbound and outbound vessel traffic to the Port of Tampa port has ceased. Carnival may have upwards of eight sailings altered due to Milton. Royal Caribbean, Margaritaville at Sea and Celebrity have already announced alterations to sailings this week.
While Milton has briefly weakened, CNN reports that this isn’t uncommon for such storms and could even re-intensify, possibly even surpassing its previous peak strength. On Monday, Hurricane Milton had maximum sustained winds of 180 mph.
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