Federal forecasters say that Hurricane Milton on Monday strengthened into a Category 5 storm and is due to hit the Tampa, Florida, area by Wednesday evening, with officials in western Florida issuing mandatory evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of people.
According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton is in the southern portion of the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to move to the west, impacting Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, before moving to the northwest and slamming into west-central Florida as a “major” hurricane, meaning a Category 3 or greater.
The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued multiple advisories, including hurricane and tropical storm watches, for much of Florida’s Gulf coast. Those watches are likely to be upgraded to warnings as the storm system approaches the state….