SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Suncoast residents are advised to have their hurricane plan ready for activation. Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and could become a category three hurricane before making landfall on the west coast of Florida. The center of the National Hurricane Center's latest cone is hitting anywhere from Cedar Key to south of Fort Myers. It is important to understand that the cone is an estimate of where the center of the storm will move. Although this is an estimate of where the center of the storm may be, it is important to remember that life-threatening weather will be felt significantly further from the center of the storm.

Milton is a slow-moving tropical storm with a speed of just eight miles per hour, but will increase in speed Monday as it moves toward the ENE. Sustained wind speeds of 45 miles per hour were recorded. Milton is expected to rapidly intensify on Monday as conditions become more favorable near Yucatan in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

This will be a very dangerous storm for our region. Storm surge forecasts are not yet available, but will be once the storm surge warning is in effect for our area. If the storm moves into Tampa Bay or just to our north, the surge will be very dangerous. It could rival or even be higher than what we saw with Helene.

We expect 5 to 7 inches of precipitation over a large area, with larger amounts in isolated areas. There are indications that some drier air may move in on the back side of the storm, which could limit flooding in its path, but we are still expecting heavy rain. The chance of flash flooding through Wednesday is over 15%.

Stay up to date on the latest advice and take the necessary precautions to stay safe.

Meanwhile, there will be isolated showers on the Sunny Coast on Sunday. The entire Suncoast area is under a flood watch and between five and twenty inches of rain could fall between Sunday and Thursday morning. In isolated areas you could see up to 30 cm.

Milton could bring life-threatening storm surge and devastating hurricane-force winds to Florida.

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