Piles of ruined furniture and personal belongings are lined up on the side of the street in Holmes Beach ahead of Hurricane Milton's anticipated arrival. © Gabriela Szymanowska / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(Tampa, FL) — Millions of people on Florida’s Gulf Coast are scrambling to get out of the way of Hurricane Milton. The National Hurricane Center says Milton is a “catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane, and will be “extremely dangerous” when it hits Florida’s central coast either tonight or early Thursday. Milton is around 250 miles southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. Forecasters say the outer bands of the hurricane are already starting to impact Florida, and that conditions are expected to deteriorate throughout the day.
Tampa Bay leaders say they are doing their best to prepare for a potentially devastating hit from Milton. The Tampa General Hospital will remain open. Crews are working to clear the nearly all the debris on streets left over from Hurricane Helene. Emergency management officials worry the massive piles of debris could turn into deadly projectiles during the hurricane. Officials warn much of the debris likely won’t be picked up before the hurricane makes landfall.
