Here’s What You Need to Know About Hurricane Milton’s Expected Path

Per an advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. EST: "Milton is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida [on Wednesday night]."

This comes after it was announced on Tuesday that President Joe Biden would be postponing his upcoming trip to Germany and Angola so that he can "oversee preparations for and the response to Hurricane Milton."

Speaking on Tuesday, Biden said: "I've urged everyone, everyone currently located in Hurricane Milton's path to listen local officials and follow safety instructions... If you're under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now, now—you should have already evacuated. It's a matter of life and death."

Mandatory evacuation orders in Florida are in place for 14 counties as of Wednesday morning.

At present, Milton is considered to be a Category 4 hurricane, although it was a Category 5 storm for much of its approach. As for Milton's expected path, per the NHC, "the center of Milton will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico today [Wednesday], 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."

Read More: Why Tampa Is Especially Vulnerable to Hurricane Milton.

The NHC has issued a warning that the combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide "will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline."

In addition, "several tornadoes are likely today [Wednesday] and tonight across parts of central and southern Florida."

Milton comes on the heels of an already extremely active hurricane season, especially for Florida.

Less than two weeks ago, Florida’s west coast was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in the state as a Category 4 storm. The devastation and damage from Helene spread from Florida, with its death toll climbing to at least 230 people. The NHC has also been tracking Hurricane Kirk and Hurricane Leslie.

With reporting by Rebecca Schneid, Olivia-Anne Cleary, Solcyre Burga, and Anna Gordon