As of 11 a.m. ET, today, Wednesday, October 9, Hurricane Milton is located about 190 miles southwest of Tampa with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, according to today’s state hurricane preparedness update from Tallahassee.
Now a Category 4 hurricane, Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today, make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida late tonight or early Thursday morning, and move off the east coast of Florida over the western Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon.
Orange County is under hurricane warning from the National Weather Service.
Milton’s latest track shows that damaging hurricane conditions are increasingly likely in Orange County, Orange County officials said at yesterday’s news conference about preparedness for Hurricane Milton.
Since this morning, rainbands have increased over Orange County and continue throughout the day. After sunset, there is a potential to feel tropical storm-force winds.
From Wednesday night through Thursday, wind gusts would be in excess of 74 miles per hour and there is potential for 6 to 12 inches of rain, according to yesterday’s Orange County’s update.
The State Assistance Information Line is now open and accepting calls 24/7 with English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole speakers available at 1-800-342-3557.
Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-215, amending EO 24-214 and declaring a state of emergency for 51 counties.
Follow the National Weather Service for the latest weather updates.
To learn more about navigating hurricane season, residents can visit FloridaDisaster.org/Guide. For updates on county resources available visit FloridaDisaster.org/Counties for a list of all 67 county emergency management contacts.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
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