Milton strengthened this Monday and became a category 3 hurricaneon the Saffir-Cimpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
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Likewise, the Government of Mexico updated its data at 5 in the morning, local time, confirming category 3 for the hurricane and establishing warnings about the arrival of strong and intense rains to the northeast, east, south and southeast of the country, including the Yucatan Peninsula.
Previously, The Government of Mexico had issued a notice by Hurricane Milton to the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, which continued its movement over the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the Mexican authority of the National Water Commission (Conagua), currently the center of the hurricane is located 235 km west-northwest of Celestún, and warns of the arrival of very intense rains in Campache and Yucatán, and very strong in Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.
In addition, the commission foresees gusts of wind of 100 to 120 km/h, waves of 3 to 5 meters high with possible formation of waterspouts on the coasts of Campeche and Yucatán, along with gusts of 60 to 80 km/h with waves of 1 to 3 meters high on the coast of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.
Even though it remains away from the Mexican coasts (Category 1 Hurricane Milton, intense rains are expected to occur during the next few hours in Veracruz, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, the coasts of Tamaulipas and Yucatán.
Among the recommendations of the Mexican authority it is requested that extremes be taken precautions for the general population in the areas of the states mentioned due to rain, wind and waves (including maritime navigation),
The new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaumwarned this Sunday that the circulation of Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico will cause very heavy rains to occasionally intense rains in states in the northeast, east, south and southeast of the country, including the Yucatan Peninsula.
“Even though Category 1 Hurricane Milton remains away from the Mexican coast, intense rains are expected to occur during the next few hours in Veracruz, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, the coasts of Tamaulipas and Yucatán,” said the president. in a message on social networks.
For its part, the National Hurricane Center had advanced in a statement this morning that the storm is at 1,200 kilometers southwest of TampaFlorida, and could make landfall next Wednesday as a hurricane. category 3 potentially destructive.
At this time, a hurricane watch remains in effect for the Florida Gulf Coast from Chokoloskee northward to the mouth of the Suwanee River.
The arrival of the new tropical storm in Florida comes ten days after Helene made landfall in that state, becoming in the deadliest hurricane in the US since Katrina.
According to the latest NHC report, Milton is forecast to intensify rapidly as it moves from east to northeast across the Gulf of Mexico9 kilometers per hour, and will be a major hurricane (category 3, 4 or 5) when it reaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula in the middle of the week.
Still, there remains “significant uncertainty in Milton’s final trajectory and intensity” and “it is too early to specify the exact magnitude and location of the largest impacts,” the center noted.
For now, it is known that there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for parts of the west coast of the Florida peninsula starting Tuesday night or early Wednesday.
Florida Peninsula residents should follow any advice given by local officials and check back for forecast updates
“Residents of the Florida Peninsula should follow any advice given by local officials and check back for forecast updates,” the institution noted.
This Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantisincreased to 51 the number of counties in a state of emergency included in the executive order that he signed on Saturday and alerted the population to take the cyclone seriously.
“Anyone on the west coast of Florida has the potential to suffer significant impacts,” the governor warned this Sunday during a press conference, in which the director of the state emergency management agency, Kevin Guthrie, warned of the possibility of “the largest evacuation” since Hurricane Irma in 2017.
The Hillsborough school district, where the city of Tampa is located, which has not yet recovered from the impact of Hurricane Helene, reported this Sunday that local schools will close between Monday and Wednesday, in order to use them as shelters.
“Given the recent impact of Helene, many in our community are still recovering and may find it unsafe to remain in their homes,” school officials in this county said in a post on the social network X.
Although southeastern counties such as Miami-Dade or Broward are currently outside the cone of possible trajectory, the city of Miami will begin distributing sandbags starting Monday, the city council reported.
Milton could leave rain accumulations of up to 380 millimeters in part of Florida from this Sunday until Wednesday night and therefore there is a risk of flash flooding and “moderate to significant river flooding,” according to the NHC.
The hurricane will land on US territory after Helene left, after entering the past September 26 in northwest Florida as a category 4 hurricane, a trail of more than 800 kilometers of devastation across states in the southeastern United States, with special intensity in North Carolina.
He also left more than 230 dead and dozens of missing becoming the deadliest hurricane in the US since Katrina in 2005.
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