Tropical Storm Milton likely to become major hurricane as it heads toward Florida

Tropical Storm Milton is likely to become a major hurricane in three days as it aims for Florida's already storm-battered west coast, federal forecasters said Saturday.

Tropical Storm Milton is likely to become a major hurricane in three days as it aims for Florida's already storm-battered west coast, federal forecasters said Saturday.

The National Hurricane Center said in a forecast discussion the storm was rapidly evolving into "an intense hurricane with multiple life-threatening hazards" for the coastline north and south of the Tampa Bay region.

The center's forecasters said Milton was likely to reach hurricane status — defined by sustained winds of at 74 mph — on Sunday night, followed by major hurricane status — a Category 3 defined by sustained winds of at least 111 mph — in less than 72 hours.

Tropical storm Milton.National Hurricane CenterAs of 2 a.m. ET Sunday, Milton was 365 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 855 miles west-southwest from Tampa. It was pushing out maximum sustained winds estimated to be 45 mph, with some higher gusts, the hurricane center said. It was moving north-northeast at 4 mph, it said.

The storm is “moving slowly but expected to strengthen rapidly,” the hurricane center said in all-capital letters in its latest update. “Risk of life-threatening impacts increasing for portions of the Florida west coast.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/tropical-storm-milton-rcna174153

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