Hurricane Milton live tracker: Florida braces for landfall as Biden warns of ‘life or death decision’

Hurricane Milton strengthened back up to a major Category 5 hurricane after fluctuations in intensity on Tuesday evening, with the National Hurricane Center billing it as “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.

The storm, which currently has sustained wind speeds of 160mph, is racing towards Florida’s west-central coast, where it is predicted to make landfall late with less intensity on Wednesday evening or in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Read James Liddell’s full story complete with the latest maps and diagrams of Milton’s path.

Hurricane Milton’s rapid intensification to a Category 5 storm has shocked forecasters, but it is just the latest in a series of storms so extreme that the current hurricane scale may no longer fully capture their severity.

The potential “once in a lifetime” storm rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane in a matter of a few hours.

Given the intensification of hurricanes due to climate crisis, some experts have suggested the need for a Category 6, to account for storms with wind speeds exceeding 192mph.

President Biden warned Florida residents who are in the path of powerful Hurricane Milton to evacuate as the White House announced he would be postponing a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor the storm response.

“I’ve urged everyone, everyone currently located in Hurricane Milton’s path to listen local officials and follow safety instructions,” Mr Biden said.

“If you’re under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now, now, you should have already evacuated. It’s a matter of life and death.”

Mr Biden said he pre-approved emergency declarations in Florida and had sent FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell to Florida on Monday.

He also called on airlines to provide “as much service as possible” and “not engage in price gouging.”

Mr Biden said he had spoken to “all political leaders” in the region, “some of them more than once,” and he said he told them “anything they ask for, they can get.”

Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds, is on track to make landfall late on Wednesday or early Thursday near Tampa Bay, according to the National Hurricane Center.

While earlier forecasts had Milton directly hitting the Tampa area, more recent models suggest a slight shift in the storm’s path toward the Sarasota area, potentially sparing Tampa from the worst of the storm.

Despite this shift, Tampa remains at high risk, particularly from storm surges, with forecasts predicting 10 to 15 feet of surge in some parts of the bay, double the levels seen during Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.

This makes Tampa, a city of 3 million, particularly vulnerable due to its low-lying geography, which is prone to flooding from storm surges.

Meteorologists, however, stress on not focusing on the exact track of hurricanes as projected paths can change and major impacts can occur outside of cone.

But even a slight change in Milton’s path could drastically affect who experiences the worst impacts, so residents are still being urged to evacuate.

While the storm is expected to weaken slightly before landfall, its size will grow, with tropical storm-force winds extending up to 230 miles from the centre. This means that the entire Florida peninsula could feel the effects, even if Tampa avoids a direct hit.

Hurricane Milton is now about 405 miles southwest of Tampa, with sustained winds of 160mph.

The storm has weakened very slightly but remains a Category 5 hurricane after an eyewall replacement that restrengthened it.

The storm is moving northeast at 12mph and is expected to make landfall along Florida’s central Gulf Coast by Wednesday night or early Thursday.

While the storm is forecast to weaken slightly before landfall, it will expand greatly in size, spreading its dangerous impacts over a wide area. Tropical storm-force winds will extend 230 miles outward from the centre, potentially covering the entire Florida peninsula.

Last-minute shifts in Milton’s trajectory could critically affect who experiences the brunt of the storm.

A new report from World Weather Attribution (WWA) shows that Hurricane Helene was significantly more intense due to the climate crisis, with wind speeds 11 per cent higher and rainfall totals about 10 per cent greater.

Researchers warn that Hurricane Milton is likely to behave similarly, as it barrels toward Florida’s coast. Forecasters have said Milton could be Florida’s worst storm on record.

The report found that the current high sea surface temperatures fuelling these storms were made 200 to 500 times more likely by the climate crisis.

“We have all the full body of research now that shows this very clear connection between climate change and hurricane intensity,” Friederike Otto, a climate scientist from Imperial College London, said.

“The biggest danger is not to make the connection to climate change.”

The study highlights how fossil fuel-driven warming has increased the likelihood of hurricanes like Helene, which used to occur every 130 years, but now have a 1 in 53 chance of hitting any given year.

Hurricane Milton, now back at Category 5, is expected to make landfall between Tampa and Fort Myers on Wednesday night, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Milton is currently packing ferocious winds of up to 165mph (270kmph). Forecasters warn it could be the worst storm to hit the area in about a century – with a surge of 10-15ft or over, and heavy rainfall of up to 1.5ft.

The storm is currently moving northeast at 12mph towards Florida’s west-central coast, bringing dangerous winds and storm surges up to 15 feet in some areas. Milton’s intensification follows an eyewall replacement cycle, which often leads to strengthening before landfall.