Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 35 Florida counties Saturday afternoon as the threat of another hurricane looms over Tampa Bay.

Milton – currently a tropical storm – is set to make landfall as at least a Category 3 Hurricane on Wednesday as it moves northeastward over warm Gulf waters. The storm’s forecast cone shows a wide range of landfall possibilities along Florida’s west coast, ranging from the Big Bend in the north to the Everglades in the south.

Tropical Storm “Milton” is expected to strengthen into a dangerous hurricane that may hit Florida’s western coast next week, bringing life-threatening strong winds, flooding, and heavy rainfall, according to U.S. media reports.

The National Hurricane Centre indicated that national weather agencies are likely to issue hurricane and coastal flood warnings for parts of Florida later today. The storm’s sustained winds could reach up to 115 mph (approximately 185 km/h) when it hits the western coast of Florida, near St. Petersburg and Tampa, wh
ich would categorise it as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane.

Source: Emirates News Agency