Florida ports prepare for Milton as it becomes Category 5 hurricane

The hurricane center called Milton’s intensification “remarkable” and said the storm developed into a Category 5 Monday afternoon. Some weakening is expected before it reaches the Florida Gulf Coast, but it will still make landfall as a life-threatening hurricane. 

Landfall could be anywhere from Cedar Key to Fort Myers, the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said. 

Meteorologists are forecasting up to 12 feet of storm surge into Tampa Bay — the highest ever — if the storm’s center hits near the city. 

President Joe Biden on Monday approved an emergency declaration for Florida, which will allow assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday said the port could see gale-force winds within 48 hours. Operations were continuing as normal on Monday. 

“Port Tampa Bay is doing all it can to prepare for Hurricane Milton, and to ensure safety of life, protection of the environment, and maritime commerce resiliency,” the port said in a statement.

The port expects cruises to be impacted. 

Tampa International Airport will suspend operations at 9 a.m. Tuesday ahead of the storm. The Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive and Plant City airports will also close. 

Port Panama City, Seaport Manatee, Port St. Pete, the Jacksonville Port Authority and Port Canaveral were expecting gale-force winds but remained open Monday. 

Milton is expected to have a significant impact on the aerospace, life sciences, general manufacturing, oil and gas, and freight industries, supply chain data monitoring company Resilinc reported.

Offshore natural gas and oil platforms will be impacted by the storm, said Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, a supply chain risk analytics company. 

The most vulnerable agricultural area will be the citrus belt, where early harvest has just started. Damage to trees can have impacts felt for years, Davis said. 

The storm will have a moderate impact on supply chain hubs in Miami and Jacksonville, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia, he said. 

Mandatory evacuation orders were already in effect Monday for Charlotte and Hillsborough counties.

The Tampa Bay weather service urged residents to spend the next two days completing their hurricane preparations.