ORLANDO, Fla. – Most of Florida is in the latest forecast cone of Tropical Storm Milton, which is forecast to become a hurricane and strike the state by mid-week.
As of 1:25 p.m. Saturday, Tropical Storm Milton was located about 220 miles north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, moving north-northeast at 3 mph.
Tropical Storm Milton is forecast to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane bringing the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of Florida’s Gulf coast next week, according to the NHC.
The NHC expects it to remain over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night, then move across the south-central Gulf of Mexico on Monday and Tuesday before approaching the west coast of Florida by midweek.
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Based on the latest forecasts, Southwest Florida may be directly affected.
Latest information shows Tropical Storm Milton strengthening into a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday and impacting Southwest Florida Wednesday morning.
[RELATED: Central Florida counties start offering sandbags ahead of expected surge of tropical rain]
With Saturday’s forecast expected to be overall quiet, it’s a good time to clear drains, clean gutters and fill sandbags if necessary based on your risk level.
According the GFS forecast, many areas could see 4 to 6 inches of rain over the next week.
The EURO models suggests 4 to 8+ inches. The chances of heavy tropical rainfall are rising, and the risk of flooding may increase in the next few days
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