On Monday evening at 7 PM, Milton made the exclusive sub-900 mb club as the central minimum pressure dropped to 897 mb. Wilma (2005) was the strongest with a central minimum pressure of 882 mb. Since the mid-1930s, there have only been six hurricanes that made this list. Prior to the 1980s, barometric pressure data was more scarce as planes were not flying into the storms. Now, that we have hurricane hunters analyzing tropical cyclones, the data has become more frequent and reliable.
Right now, Milton is a dangerous category 5 hurricane with some weakening expected as it approaches the west-central Florida coastline as a major category 4 hurricane. Regardless of its category status, this is likely going to be one of the strongest and most destructive hurricanes on record to impact the state of Florida. Catastrophic wind damage and life-threatening storm surge up to 15 feet is possible around Tampa Bay. Hurricane-force winds sustained at 160 mph extend outward up to 30 miles from the center with higher wind gusts up to 200 mph. The latest track from the National Hurricane Center has nudged the track a little farther north, which has the heaviest rain focused over Tampa to Orlando. It will quickly weaken as it travels eastward over the state and over the western Atlantic basin.
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