ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9′s meteorologists are tracking Hurricane Milton as it approaches Florida.
See the latest updates below:
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Photos: Hurricane Milton to impact Florida as major storm
7:30 a.m. update:
Gov. Ron DeSantis will hold a news conference Tuesday morning to share updates on the preparations for Hurricane Milton.
DeSantis is set to speak around 7:45 a.m. from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Dave Kerner and Major General John D. Haas Adjutant General of Florida will join DeSantis at the event.
Watch DeSantis’ full Monday afternoon news conference here:
WFTV will have live coverage of the governor’s news conference on Channel 9 and wftv.com.
6:40 a.m. update:
Channel 9 is seeing major traffic slowdowns in western Central Florida as people evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival.
Bumper-to-bumper gridlock traffic was seen Early Tuesday morning on I-75 in Pasco County.
A traffic camera near 275 shows thousands of drivers barely moving on northbound I-75 in the Wesley Chapel area.
Watch: Major gridlock traffic on I-75 as people evacuate for Hurricane Milton
5:50 a.m. update:
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said it is partnering with Uber to provide free rides to and from shelters in counties evacuating from Hurricane Milton.
People who qualify can access the rides by opening the Uber app, open their account on the bottom rights, open the “Wallet” and adding the promo code MILTONRELIEF.
More information on state-approved shelters can be found here.
5 a.m. update:
The National Hurricane Center confirmed Hurricane Milton is nearly a Category 5 storm after weakening to a Category 4 overnight.
NOAA officials said Hurricane Milton is still an “extremely powerful” system.
Milton has maximum sustained winds around 155 mph and is moving east-northeast at 12 mph.
NHC said Milton poses an extremely serious threat to Florida, and residents are urged to follow local officials’ orders.
Current forecast timing has Milton making landfall at a major hurricane around 1 a.m. Thursday.
2 a.m. update:
Milton has weakened to a Category 4 storm but remains a powerful major hurricane.
The 2 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center states that Milton’s winds are 155 mph, making it a Category 4 hurricane.
Earlier Monday, Milton recorded a central pressure of 987 mb, making it one of the strongest hurricanes in the Gulf on record.
Milton is expected to be a Category 4 or 5 storm through Tuesday, then weaken some as it nears Florida. It is expected to remain a major hurricane at landfall.
Original story:
Hurricane Milton is maintaining a Cat. 5 status with slightly weaker winds.
The 11 p.m. advisory on Oct. 7 from the National Hurricane Center has winds of 165 mph, showing some slight weakening.
Earlier on Monday, Milton recorded a central pressure of 987 mb, making it one of the strongest hurricanes in the Gulf on record.
Hurricane Warnings continue for most of Central Florida, including Metro Orlando, and Hurricane Watches are in effect for Brevard, Volusia, and Flagler counties. Hurricane-force winds are expected area-wide late Wednesday into Thursday.
Read: See where you can get sandbags in Central Florida
Milton is expected to maintain its Category 5 strength through Tuesday, then weaken some as it nears Florida. It is expected to remain a major hurricane at landfall.
The latest track shows Milton making landfall along the west coast of Florida early Thursday morning. It is then expected to track across Central Florida on Thursday.
Read: Hurricane Milton: These shelters are open in Central Florida
The threat of a major hurricane strike is now becoming likely across the west coast of Florida. A catastrophic storm surge and hurricane-force winds are possible along and south of the landfall point.
In Central Florida, the threat for significant impacts continues to increase. Hurricane-force winds over 74 mph, rainfall over 10 inches and storm surge along the east coast of 3-5 feet are all possible.
Stay with Channel 9 for updates on Milton.
Read: Tracking Milton: These schools have announced closures
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