Hurricane Milton intensifies from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm Monday morning

THE GULF AND WE’RE BRINGING IN CHIEF METEOROLOGIST JASON SIMPSON FOR THE LATEST ON. MILTON. MILTON HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE STORM TO WATCH. GOING FROM A TROPICAL DEPRESSION TO NOW A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE IN JUST A MATTER OF A COUPLE OF DAYS. THE MOVEMENT IS NOW TO THE EAST. THIS IS THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE YUCATAN PENINSULA. AND LOOK AT THAT PRESSURE. IT’S NOT REALLY ONE OF THE THINGS WE TALK ABOUT OFTEN, BUT NOW WE ARE IN THE TOP TEN OF STRONGEST ATLANTIC BASIN HURRICANES ON RECORD. AND ONE OF THE REASONS OCEANIC HEAT. THIS IS NOT JUST SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE, BUT IT’S THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER DOWN SEVERAL METERS DOWN BELOW THE SURFACE. AND WE’RE LOOKING AT A LOT OF VERY WARM WATER HERE. THANKFULLY, THOUGH, THE CARIBBEAN IS MUCH WARMER. AND THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY IN THE PATH. ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOTE THAT AS THE STORM STARTS TO MAKE THAT PATH ACROSS WHAT WE CALL THE LOOP CURRENT, IT IS GOING TO FEED OFF OF EVEN MORE VERY, VERY WARM WATER. THE OTHER FACT THAT HAS GOT FACTOR THAT HAS GONE INTO RAPIDLY INTENSIFYING MILTON, NOT JUST THE WARM WATER, BUT THE LACK OF DISRUPTIVE WIND SHEAR. WIND SHEAR IS ANYTIME YOU CHANGE THE WIND DIRECTION WITH HEIGHT OR HAVE A LOT OF WIND SPEED. NOW YOU NOTICE THERE IS SOME OUT AHEAD OF IT, BUT THAT WILL STAY AHEAD OF THE STORM. UP HERE TO THE NORTH AND THEN RIGHT OVER THE STORM ITSELF. THERE’S NOT THAT MUCH HAPPENING. WILMA WAS THE STRONGEST ATLANTIC HURRICANE EVER. BASED ON PRESSURE, 882 MILLIBARS. MILTON CURRENTLY AT 905. YOU THINK BACK TO 2005. WE ALSO HAD RITA. THERE WAS THE LABOR DAY HURRICANE THAT HIT THE KEYS IN 1935, AND THEN GILBERT, 888 MILLIBARS BACK IN 1988. AND WE NEVER REALLY THOUGHT ANYTHING WOULD GET ANY DEEPER THAN THAT. BUT HERE WE ARE. STRONGEST POINT OF THIS STORM IS GOING TO BE ONCE IT CROSSES THAT LOOP CURRENT THAT REALLY WARM WATER AT THAT POINT, THE PRESSURE IS PROBABLY BELOW 900 AND THE WIND IS OVER 175. IT’S ALREADY OVER 175, SO IT MAY GET EVEN STRONGER THAN THAT. THE GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS HERE IS THAT AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE FLORIDA COASTLINE, IT IS GOING TO WEAKEN A LITTLE BIT. BUT IT’S GOING TO EXPAND IN SIZE AND SCOPE. AND THAT IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR THE TAMPA AREA, BECAUSE WE COULD BE LOOKING AT A WORST CASE SCENARIO HERE. IF THE STORM COMES IN NORTH OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, THE SURGE IS GOING TO GO RIGHT UP INTO TAMPA BAY. IF IT COMES IN CLOSER TO FORT MYERS, THEN TAMPA BAY MAY BE ALMOST EVACUATED OF WATER. SO A VERY, VERY CLOSE CALL HERE FOR THE CITY OF TAMPA. THEY COULD HAVE STORM SURGE GREATER THAN TEN TO MAYBE 20FT. WE’LL UPDATE YOU ON THE REST OF HOW EVERYTHING IS GOIN