Georgia’s coast remains under a tropical storm warning following Hurricane Milton’s landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
Most of Georgia will dodge the storm, which made landfall between Tampa Bay and Fort Myers late Wednesday. Georgia’s far-southeast cities, some of which are still grappling with power outages and heavy damage from Helene, could again be whipped by 30-40-mph winds and 2 to 6 inches of rain that could cause flash flooding late Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center predicts.
Gov. Brian Kemp said Milton’s impact in Georgia “won’t be anything like” that of Helene but warned residents in the southeast corner of the state to stock up on extra water and food to last a couple of days in case they temporarily lose power or roads are blocked.
Many Florida residents evacuated, with several settling at Georgia hotels and campgrounds.
[10 p.m.]: Milton is now a Category 2 hurricane with winds topping 110 mph. The storm will continue east across central Florida and will make its way to the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday morning.
[8:30 p.m.]: Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Florida’s Siesta Key, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Sarasota, the NHC said.
[8 p.m.]: Hurricane Milton is close to making landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast, the NHC announced. The Category 3 hurricane is about 20 miles from Sarasota.
[7 p.m.]: The northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton is beginning to come onshore along Florida’s Gulf Coast near Tampa and St. Petersburg, the NHC said. The storm has sustained winds of 120 mph and is approximately 35 miles from Sarasota and 140 miles from Orlando.
“Please shelter in place as these extremely dangerous hurricane-force winds overspread the region,” the agency said.
[6:20 p.m.]: Before Milton leaves the Southeast, the counterclockwise motion of its winds could still whip water back toward the Georgia coast, where 2 to 4 feet of storm surge is expected.
That’s not likely to cause widespread flooding, but the incursion of water — combined with already saturated soils and full rivers — could overwhelm stormwater systems and inundate some low-lying areas, said Jessica T.R. Brown, a stormwater specialist with the University of Georgia’s Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.
“The saturated conditions from last week increases the time it will take for storm surge infiltration to go away, and it may increase the footprint of localized flooding through the end of the week,” Brown said, adding that motorists should not try to drive through flooded roads.
— Read the full story by staff writer Drew Kann here.
[5 p.m.]: The NHC predicts that Hurricane Milton will soon slow down and turn to the right, shifting the center near or just south of Tampa Bay later this evening. The storm is packing 120-mph winds.
The risk of tornadoes will also continue into the evening hours across the southern and central Florida peninsula.
[4:10 p.m.]: Hurricane Milton is packing 125-mph winds, making it a Category 3 storm, the NHC said. It remains 100 miles off Tampa and Fort Myers Beach.
[4 p.m.]: As Hurricane Milton evacuees flock to Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton has become the temporary home to a bevy of visitors waiting out the storm. For those looking for a way to spend the hours, Hampton has a lot to offer that won’t cost much more than your time.
— Read the full story by staff writer Hunter Boyce here.
[3:20 p.m.]: Tracking the path of Hurricane Milton has taken Chatham County Commission Chairman Chester Ellis back to his teenage years when the wobble was the trendy dance with kids his age.
”We’re watching that wobble,” Ellis said at a news conference. “It’s wobbled south of Tampa now, but that doesn’t take us out of danger.”
Milton is forecast to move west to east across central Florida, well south of the Georgia coast. But Ellis and other Savannah-area government officials are readying for the storm’s impacts anyway. The latest forecast for Milton calls for winds of 20 to 30 mph in Savannah and inland areas, and winds of 30 to 40 mph on the islands east of the city.
Minor flooding is expected Thursday and potentially Friday as Milton’s storm surge pushes an additional 2 to 4 feet of water into the tidal rivers and other waterways. At the beach on Tybee Island, officials have already closed the shore to swimmers after lifeguards spotted a 300-yard rip current Wednesday morning. Waves along South Beach could top 5 feet, welcome news to local surfers but not to Tybee’s leaders. Mayor Brian West warned of significant beach erosion.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson expressed concerns about Milton’s winds, particularly coming so soon after Hurricane Helene. Wind gusts topped out at 76 mph during that storm and dropped a significant number of trees. Johnson warned residents to be aware of weakened trees this time.
”We just did this and now we’re back at it again,” he said.
— Staff writer Adam Van Brimmer
[3:13 p.m.]: Tropical storm-force winds have moved ashore on Florida’s west coast as Hurricane Milton approaches landfall, according to the National Weather Service.
There have been at least seven confirmed tornadoes across Florida, the NWS said in social media posts. Multiple tornado warnings are in effect across the state and on the east coast. Residents in Florida have been advised to shelter in place, and those under a tornado warning should shelter away from windows and doors.
Storm surge has already begun to form in some areas, including Naples, where water levels have been steadily rising during a time that should be low tide, according to the NWS.
— Staff writer Taylor Croft
[2:30 p.m.]: Hurricane Milton is growing in size as it moves closer to the west coast of Florida, the NHC said. The Category 4 storm with 130-mph winds is about 150 miles from Tampa.
“It’s time to shelter-in-place from Milton. Tropical-storm force winds, flooding rains and tornadoes are spreading inland across Florida. Unless a life-threatening situation arises, stay indoors and follow updates,” the National Weather Service said.
[2:03 p.m.]: Some Atlanta-area restaurants are extending their hospitality to evacuees fleeing Hurricane Milton by offering discounted meals and dry camping space.
Italian restaurant Amalfi Cucina & Mercato said those displaced by mandatory evacuations in Florida can enjoy a meal at its Buckhead or downtown Atlanta locations and “pay what you can” if they have a valid ID from an affected area.
”Our family here at Amalfi Pizza understands the struggles that evacuees face as we have establishments and team members that are affected in those areas,” founding partner Greg Grant said in a news release.
Vegan restaurant Strive Foods, located in Sandy Springs, is offering a 20% discount to evacuees, while Halidom Eatery, a food hall in southeast Atlanta, is allowing evacuees to camp in their vacated open field.
— Staff writer Ashley Ahn
[1:56 p.m.]: CJ Gagne and his family evacuated from Naples, Florida, and found shelter at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which opened its grounds for evacuees to camp for free. The speedway provided a free electric hookup for their RV and served meals to evacuees.
”All the RV parks that we called (in Georgia and Alabama) were all full and didn’t have any space for us,” Gagne said.
During their family trip north in their RV, in which they live full-time, they encountered heavy traffic and gas shortages. They relied on their spare gas cans to make it through, Gagne said. By chance, they received a text about the speedway opening up and decided to set up camp.
Gagne noted that he and his family had never evacuated before, but the forecast was too intense for them to ignore.
”We just felt with the high wind speeds and the devastation that was going to, probably, take place, that it was too much for our RV,” Gagne said. “Got to protect the house as much as the family in it.”
— Staff photographer John Spink and staff writer Taylor Croft
[12:45 p.m.]: School districts in coastal Georgia communities canceled in-person classes ahead of the storm.
Camden County will switch to “distance learning” for the remainder of the week and include activities that do not require students to be online.
Glynn County schools will also be closed Thursday. Friday was already a scheduled “teacher work day” for students, the district said.
Georgia Southern University said Thursday will be an online learning day for the Armstrong and Liberty campuses. The Statesboro campus will remain open.
Savannah State University, however, will conduct remote learning on Thursday and Friday. Its residential halls will remain open.
— Staff writer Alexis Stevens
[12:30 p.m.]: At least 15 RVs have parked at Atlanta Motor Speedway as of Wednesday morning, spokesperson Tyler Head said.
More evacuees have indicated to the ticketing office that they are on their way to the campgrounds, he said.
While only 15 campsites are filled, Head said hundreds more are set aside for evacuees.
[12:15 p.m.]: In Macon, fewer than a dozen evacuees stayed at a Red Cross shelter in a recreation center gym capable of housing more than 100 people. There were more volunteers on hand than evacuees.
However, it is likely the Macon shelter and others like it across the region will host more Floridians on Wednesday night.
Evacuees Rosemary Hernandez and her mother, Marly Hernandez, left their home near Orlando on Tuesday afternoon. After about nine hours on the road, they spent the night in Perry. They couldn’t find anywhere to stay so they parked their SUV in a motel parking lot and slept there.
On Wednesday morning, they made their way to the south Macon shelter.
Rosemary Hernandez, 45, a seventh grade teacher at a Christian school in Kissimmee, was glad she headed north and that she’d heeded meteorologists’ warnings.
“Something very bad is coming,” she said.
Some of her kin stayed behind, but as she navigated clogged highways on the drive north, she sensed she’d made the right decision.
“I saw lots of people doing the same thing,” she said.
— Staff writer Joe Kovac Jr.
[11:30 a.m.]: The NHC warns that “the time to evacuate, if told to do so by local officials, is quickly coming to a close.”
The storm is expected to make landfall at some point late tonight.
“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,” the NHC said. “Even at 12-24 hours, NHC’s track forecasts can be off by an average of 20-30 nautical miles.”
While an exact timeframe for landfall has not been provided, meteorologists estimate the storm will be over water for another 12 hours or so — roughly. That would put landfall around midnight.
[10:35 a.m.]: The NHC said it’s now “time to rush to complete all preparations to protect life and property in accordance with your emergency plan. Ensure you are in a safe location before the onset of strong winds or possible flooding. Ensure you have multiple ways to receive weather warnings.”
The storm is still about 210 miles southwest of Tampa and moving at about 16 mph.
Vehicle traffic along Georgia’s interstates appears to be moving normally.
[10:25 a.m.]: President Joe Biden warned airlines against price gouging as evacuees rush to leave Florida before the storm’s arrival.
In Tampa, the international airport closed Tuesday, followed by closures of airports in Sarasota/Bradenton and St. Petersburg and the suspension of airline flights to and from Orlando International.
For Wednesday, more than 1,700 flights are canceled, according to FlightAware.com. The cancellations include more than 120 flights at Hartsfield-Jackson, including some to or from Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota/Bradenton and Fort Myers.
[9:15 a.m.]: Home Depot said it had closed 36 of its Florida stores that were in the direct path of Hurricane Milton.
The Vinings-based home improvement giant said 50 other stores would be closing early during the day as the huge storm approached the coast.
Additionally, as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, GasBuddy was reporting that 22.8% of the stations in Florida are out of gasoline.
[ORIGINAL STORY]: Kemp encouraged Floridians to seek shelter in North Georgia or Alabama as resources remain strained in the South Georgia communities hit hardest after Helene. Cities like Atlanta, Columbus, Macon and Albany were preparing to receive hundreds of evacuees.
“I’m already hearing hotel rooms are full all the way to the metro Atlanta area,” Kemp said Tuesday. “So people are going to have to either keep going north or turn and go back into parts of Alabama to try to find hotel rooms or places that they can stay.”
Georgia’s interstates saw large increases in traffic volume Tuesday, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. Volume on I-75, for example, was four times higher than historical averages. But despite the increased traffic, highway speeds remained normal, GDOT said.
GDOT told drivers to call 511 to get traffic conditions, find out about evacuation routes or request roadside assistance.
In anticipation of Milton, the state of emergency, in place since Hurricane Helene, for counties near the Florida and South Carolina borders, as well as near the coast, has been extended.
“For as long as needed, we will work with those on the local level to ensure resources are available for those who need them following this devastating storm,” Kemp wrote on X.
