Hurricane Milton ‘explosively intensifies’ with winds of 175 mph
Hurricane Milton has “explosively” intensified, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, according the latest bulletin from the National Hurricane Center.
The agency said Milton is now a “potentially catastrophic” Category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, which ranks hurricanes from 1 to 5 based on a storm’s maximum sustained wind speed.
“While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida,” the NHC said.
Milton is currently about 700 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, and is moving east at around 9 mph. The hurricane is expected to move near the Yucatan Peninsula today and tomorrow, then cross the eastern Gulf of Mexico and make landfall along Florida’s west coast on Wednesday.