UPDATE:  My apologies for the prior update, too little sleep. Hurricane Milton 8:00am advisory. All interests in the Tampa area and South to Fort Myers/Naples should pay attention.

Today is the final day for any storm preparation. Conditions will deteriorate tonight as Milton approaches land. The exact location of impact is not yet defined. It looks like Sarasota Bradenton is in the bullseye. Information from the National Hurricane Center puts the predicted path at/near Tampa. Trust me, on this one a few miles will make all the difference.

At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Milton was located near latitude 25.0 North, longitude 84.8 West. Milton is moving toward the northeast near 16 mph (26 km/h). A northeastward motion is expected through tonight. A turn toward the east-northeast and east is expected on Thursday and Friday.

On the forecast track, the center of 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.

Maximum sustained winds are near 155 mph (250 km/h) with higher gusts. Milton is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida tonight.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles (45 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 125 miles (205 km). The minimum central pressure based on NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter data is 915 mb (27.02 inches). (more)

High tide in Tampa (Hillsborough) is at 6:11am tomorrow Thursday.  Unfortunately, a rising tide overnight can enhance the impact of storm surge. The total of the eyewall is currently 60 miles (30 miles from center). That’s an average buzzsaw in relative terms.  This one is slightly smaller than Ian (’22) in size and but moving faster 16mph. Keep praying for this one to get torn apart by windshear.

Evacuations and final preparations should be rushed to completion. Everyone must be in their hunker down location by evening. .

A forward speed of 16 mph will hopefully maintain so that Milton moves fast and does not have the additional opportunity to build energy from the Gulf of Mexico.  However, this is a very dangerous storm.

60-mile buzzsaw, 16 mph forward speed equals 4-hour duration for those with direct impact.  The storm surge (southern quadrant) will last approximately 2 additional hours to apex.

If you have ever heard the roof getting shredded (shingles ripping upward), you know the sound of bowling balls atop your house.  This is what should be expected for those who encounter the eyewall for any significant amount of time.

CTH will have more information as updates come available.  Coastal residents from Tampa south should have moved or are in the process of moving to areas without the worry of storm surge.

There is a lot of stress amid the population.  Remember to breathe, pray, calm yourself and think positively about events.  Focus on what you can do and stay calm amid crises.  It will be okay.

Keep praying for Milton to encounter significant upper-level winds from the North which can hamper its ability to strengthen.