Editor’s Note: This story will be updated.
A flood watch was in effect Monday for Palm Beach as town officials eyed potential effects from Hurricane Milton on the island, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene brushed by and left minimal damage in its wake .
The biggest threat to Palm Beach from the storm, which the National Weather Service on Monday said reached Category 5 status with winds of 160 mph , was the potential for major flooding rainfall in the coming days, said Robert Garcia, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.
Milton will be a major hurricane when it makes landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, forecasters said.
Town operations are scheduled to continue as normal Tuesday, and the Town Council meeting scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday will be held, the town said in a Monday news release. A decision about the council’s Development Review Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday will be made later Monday or early Tuesday, the town said.