7th confirmed tornado of the day hits Florida as Milton’s storm surge begins
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Miami have confirmed the 7th tornado linked to Hurricane “Milton” just hours before its expected landfall in Florida. As of 14:40 LT, 39 Tornado Warnings have been issued, with more tornadoes possible through the night. Tropical-storm-force winds have begun impacting Florida’s west coast, while rising water levels at the Naples Pier indicate the start of Milton’s storm surge across southwestern coastal areas. Multiple warnings remain in effect across the Florida peninsula.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Miami have confirmed 7th tornado associated with Hurricane “Milton” just hours before its landfall in Florida.
“We’ve just received reports of structures damaged in Lakeport, FL as the most recent tornado-warned storm moved through the area. This is at least the 7th confirmed tornado of the day and the second tornado to impact Lakeport today.
As of 14:40 LT, the office has issued 39 Tornado Warnings. Additional tornadoes are possible today and tonight.
“If a tornado warning is issued for your area, be ready to shelter quickly, preferably away from windows and in an interior room not prone to flooding,” NHC said.
Storm surge threat beginning
Tropical-storm-force winds are now moving onshore the west coast of Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported at 19:00 UTC. There are also multiple warnings in effect across the Florida peninsula.
Views from the Naples Pier this afternoon indicate that Milton’s surge is beginning to arrive across coastal southwestern Florida with water levels steadily rising during what should be low tide.
At 19:00 UTC on October 9, the center of Category 4 Hurricane “Milton” was located 180 km (110 miles) W of Ft. Myers and 195 km (120 miles) SW of Tampa, Florida.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 215 km/h (130 mph) and minimum central pressure of 948 hPa.
It was moving NE at 26 km/h (16 mph).
On the forecast track, the center of Milton will make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida tonight (LT), cross the Florida peninsula overnight and early Thursday, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.
“The track models insist that the hurricane will continue to move northeastward but slow down through the rest of today, with a turn toward the east-northeast occurring overnight,” NHC forecaster Berg noted.
“We would like to emphasize that Milton’s exact landfall location is not possible to predict even at this time, particularly if the hurricane wobbles during the day and into this evening,” Berg said.
Even at 12 – 24 hours, NHC’s track forecasts can be off by an average of 40 – 55 km (23 – 35 miles). Since storm surge forecasts are highly sensitive to the exact track, this means that the realized storm surge heights across the Tampa Bay region and south may vary widely, and there will likely be a noticeable gradient of surge heights to the north of the landfall location.
However, the risk of devastating storm surge still exists across much of the west-central and southwest coast of Florida given the size of the storm and the uncertainties in exactly where landfall will occur.
Damaging winds, life-threatening storm surges, and heavy rainfall will extend well outside the forecast cone. This is a very serious situation and residents in Florida should closely follow orders from their local emergency management officials. Evacuations and other preparations should be completed over the next couple of hours.
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