Hurricane Milton , a powerful and expanding storm that has fluctuated between a Category 4 and 5 as it churns in the Gulf of Mexico, is set to be a “historic storm for the west coast of Florida,” according to the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay.
Milton is approaching Florida with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday morning. The storm is currently forecast to make landfall near Sarasota, Florida, as a Category 4 storm, according to CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan.
It will be the third hurricane to make landfall in Florida in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, following Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and Hurricane Debby in early August. If it lands as a Category 4 storm, it will be the second one to do so this season, following Helene.
Despite the fluctuations in strength, Milton is the quickest storm on record to rapidly intensify into a Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico , according to CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. On Sunday, the system was a tropical storm, moving at 60 miles per hour. Just 24 hours later, the wind speeds had leapt to 175 miles per hour, far above the Category 5 threshold of 157 mph.