Hurricane Milton moves closer to the Florida west coast as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, and is projected to make landfall along the state’s west coast on Wednesday night, according to updates issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office at this morning’s news conference.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Orange County. For further Milton updates in Orange County, visit OCFL.net/Milton.
Today, Tuesday, October 8, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by Major General John D. Haas Adjutant General of Florida, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee to provide updates on preparedness efforts for Hurricane Milton.
As of 11 a.m. ET, Hurricane Milton is located about 520 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approach the west coast of Florida through Wednesday. The center is likely to make landfall along the west coast of Florida on Wednesday night and move east northeastward across Central Florida through Thursday.
Hurricane Warnings: Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Sumter and Volusia counties.
Hurricane Watches: Clay, Collier, Duval, Glades, Hendry, Nassau and Okeechobee counties.
Tropical Storm Warnings: Broward, Clay, Coastal Franklin, Coastal Jefferson, Coastal Wakulla, Collier, Dixie, Duval, Gilchrist, Glades, Hendry, Lafayette, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe (Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas), Nassau, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Suwannee, Taylor, Western Alachua and Western Columbia counties.
Tropical Storm Watches: Baker, Bradford, Eastern Alachua, Eastern Columbia, Hamilton, Inland Jefferson, Madison and Union counties.
Storm Surge Warning: Dixie/Levy County line south through Mainland Monroe; southward along the east coast of Florida to Port Canaveral.
Storm Surge Watch: Brevard County
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.
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.
To read the full news release including state preparedness efforts by multiple agencies, click here.
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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