As Hurricane Milton continued its march toward Florida, droves of evacuees were arriving in Georgia and other states Tuesday as officials warned time was running out to escape the potentially catastrophic storm.
Fueled by exceptionally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Milton rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm in around 12 hours Monday, reaching peak wind speeds of 180 mph. The storm weakened slightly early Tuesday, but by midafternoon, the National Hurricane Center found the storm was regaining strength and packing winds of 155 mph as it spun just north of the Yucatán Peninsula.
The National Hurricane Center projected Tuesday that Milton would continue on an east-northeast track toward Florida’s west coast. Over the next 24 hours, the NHC said wind shear could chip away slightly at the storm, but Milton still is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane — Category 3 or stronger — late Wednesday or early Thursday, most likely near the heavily populated and flood-prone Tampa Bay area.
Ahead of Milton’s arrival, officials have issued evacuation orders for communities in a large swath of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Tuesday, President Joe Biden postponed a planned trip to Germany and Angola to focus on Milton preparations and response, while urging Floridians to heed evacuation orders.
“It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole,” Biden said. “It’s a matter of life and death.”
The storm surge Milton could produce is unlike anything Tampa Bay, a region that is home to roughly 3 million residents, has faced in its modern history.
Tuesday afternoon, the NHC forecast a peak storm surge of between 10 to 15 feet around the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area, with water incursions of anywhere between 3 and 10 feet possible along the entire west coast of Florida. Florida’s west coast was heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, though it was on the outskirts of the storm as it moved north. Tampa Bay hasn’t had a direct hit in more than a century.
Milton is likely to maintain hurricane strength as it crosses the Florida Peninsula, where heavy rains and powerful winds are likely to cause inland flooding, power outages and property damage.
From there, Milton is expected to continue moving east into the Atlantic Ocean. But before it reaches open water, it’s likely to whip up a second storm surge on parts of the Southeast Atlantic coast, including in Georgia.
Tuesday, places like Tybee Island — a low-lying barrier island near Savannah — already had begun preparing for possible disruption from the encroaching water. Bret Bell, Tybee’s city manager, said Milton’s 2- to 4-foot storm surge could inundate the only road on and off the island, U.S. 80. Bell said the city plans to block off the roadway to traffic and has prepared its “high water vehicle” in case any residents have medical emergencies that require a trip to the mainland.
Bell said Tybee also is building berms to protect flood-prone areas on the south end of the island and will open a sandbag-filling station Wednesday for residents to utilize.
Other parts of South Georgia — including Brunswick, Savannah and Valdosta — could receive a few inches of rain and tropical storm-force wind gusts from Milton’s outer bands. But the impacts to the state should pale in comparison to the devastation Helene caused last month.
Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state of the emergency he declared after Helene through Oct. 16 and issued a new order for counties that potentially could feel the effects of Milton.
Georgia roadways and hotels, meanwhile, were filling Tuesday with waves of Floridians seeking to get out of harm’s way. Georgia emergency management officials have urged evacuees to seek shelter in Macon, Atlanta, Columbus and other parts of Middle and North Georgia — not Valdosta, Augusta and other cities still grappling with Helene’s wreckage.
In Perry, Georgia, about two hours from the Florida border, Police Chief Alan Everidge said traffic was heavy on I-75 and U.S. 41 as evacuations from Florida along with the annual Georgia National Fair taking place nearby combined to create congestion.
”It’s a slow go,” Everidge said. “People are leaving, don’t know what they’re going to go back to when it’s over. They’re trying to find places to stay. Some are trying to get to family in other parts of Georgia or find hotels where there’s availability.”
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Pauline and Edward Rasmussen were among those who decided to seek refuge in Georgia.
The couple, who live in The Villages, southeast of Ocala, arrived at a Red Cross shelter just south of Macon midday Tuesday with Minnie, their pet poodle.
“We feel much safer here,” said Pauline Rasmussen, 82.
She said she and her 77-year-old husband plan to stay in Georgia at least through Thursday. Or, as she put it, “until we feel confident that we’re not going to get blown away.”
Credit: Joe Kovac
Credit: Joe Kovac
Gary Wheat, the president and CEO of Visit Macon, said hotels in his Middle Georgia city were nearing capacity for Tuesday and Wednesday nights. He said his organization has been in touch with local hotels and is updating information for evacuees at its website, VisitMacon.org.
”If a vacancy opens up, we want to know about it. We want to be able to push it out,” Wheat said on Wednesday. “That’s why we’re here, to assist the evacuees in whatever way that we can.”
Some Atlanta hotels, including the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, were offering discounted rates for those fleeing the storm. Atlanta Motor Speedway has opened its campgrounds to evacuees.
Flight disruptions caused by airport closures in Florida already were rippling across the country, including to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Tampa International Airport closed Tuesday at 9 a.m. That was followed by closures of airports in Sarasota/Bradenton and St. Petersburg, and the suspension of flights to and from Orlando International.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, more than 700 flights had been canceled nationally, including more than 80 Delta Air Lines flights, FlightAware.com showed. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had more than 50 flights canceled Tuesday, many of them flights into or out of Tampa and Sarasota/Bradenton.
- Reporters Kelly Yamanouchi and Joe Kovac Jr. contributed to this report.
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