Climate Impact Report – 10/8

Key Facts Of The Day 10/8

Hurricane Milton

• As of Tuesday morning, Milton weakened to a 145 mph Category 4 hurricane.
• As of Tuesday Morning, Milton was located about 545 miles southwest of Tampa and was moving east-northeast at 12 mph.
• Milton’s sustained winds reached 180 mph at one point, making it the strongest storm to occur anywhere on the planet this year.
• Milton is also the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic since 2019’s Dorian, which had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph.
• When Milton makes landfall in Florida Wednesday night, its tropical-storm-force winds will extend about 230 miles outward from its center. That’s far enough to cover the entire width of the state’s Peninsula.
• Milton’s outer bands could start impacting the Florida Peninsula and the Keys with embedded tornadoes and waterspouts as early as Tuesday evening as people try to flee the storm.
• The Weather Prediction Center has increased the rainfall threat for Wednesday to a rare “high” risk. 
• Tampa and Orlando are forecast to pick up from 8 to 12 inches of rain through Thursday.
  • For Orlando, it would equal roughly two months’ worth of rain – the October average is 3.46 inches. 
  • For Tampa, it would equal more than five months’ worth of rain – the average for October is 2.34 inches.
• The Weather Prediction Center is warning that “widespread and numerous instances of flash flooding are expected with life-threatening and catastrophic flash flooding probable.”
• Forecasters warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge in Tampa Bay. 
• As millions of people in Florida prepare to evacuate their homes ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, state officials are warning that getting to a safe location quickly will become more difficult the longer people wait.
• Amid reports of fuel shortages, on Tuesday morning, Gov. DeSantis announced the state is sending fuel from its own reserves to resupply stations, including more than 100,000 gallons of gasoline, as 1.2 million additional gallons of gasoline and diesel are en route to the state.
• Uber is partnering with the Florida Division of Emergency Management to offer free rides to and from shelters for Floridians from evacuating counties.
• In Apopka, farmworker advocates are trying to inform tens of thousands of farmworkers—most of them Spanish-speaking—on how to prepare for Milton.