“Milton” is an all too appropriate name for a nightmare hurricane. After all, the poet of the same name is famed for his vivid description of a descent into hell: “Into this wild Abyss / The womb of Nature, and perhaps her grave / Of neither sea, nor shore, nor air, nor fire!”
15th-century audiences enjoyed the poem, but contemporary Florida residents are about to live through it, as Hurricane Milton is shaping up to be a storm of biblical proportions. The storm has reached Category 5 levels, with sustained maximum winds of 180 mph and gusts of 200 mph. Florida is currently evacuating, with meteorologists underlining that Milton isn’t something you can “ride out.”
The most sobering analysis came courtesy of Florida meteorologist Noah Bergren, who didn’t hold back:
When you’re faced with a storm that’s “nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth’s atmosphere” can produce it’s time to evacuate, even if you’ve successfully hunkered down for previous storms.
Milton is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9, impacting the Tampa Bay area before traveling over Orlando. Warnings are in place of a potential 8-12ft storm surge (which would be a record for the region) and consequent massive flooding. The region is still reeling from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene late last month, but though that storm caused massive damage it didn’t directly hit any cities. Milton, however, is set to do just that.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor didn’t mince words: “This is the real deal here with Milton. If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.” The director of Florida’s Emergency Management Division was also very straightforward: “I highly encourage you to evacuate.” And, finally, fire service chief Jason Doughtery didn’t sugarcoat it: “If you remain there, you could die.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis also underlined that Milton is going to be a big one, saying “I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have major impacts at this point” and that west coast and barrier island Florida residents should “just assume you’ll be asked to leave.”
Many Florida residents have gotten the memo and there are currently long queues on freeways and queues at gas stations as the evacuation proceeds. The evacuation itself has the potential for chaos, but authorities are attempting to mitigate that with emergency fuel and charging points for electric vehicles along the route to safety.
Meanwhile, with Orlando in Milton’s target, the Walt Disney World Resort has confirmed it’s closing several guest locations and warns that normal service isn’t expected to resume until the weekend at the earliest. Any guests with bookings for this week are advised to stay away, though the resort’s cancellation policy means any bookings affected by an official hurricane warning may be rescheduled without any change fees.
Expect similar news from other Florida resorts. That said, it goes without saying that if your vacation plans take you into the path of what’s shaping up to be one of the deadliest hurricanes in recorded history you might want to stay home. If you’re evacuating we hope it goes smoothly and you stay out of danger. It’s going to be a rough week for the Sunshine State.