Major hurricane Milton expected to grow as it barrels toward Florida, causing evacuations

IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN REALLY TUNED IN TO WHAT’S GOING ON WITH MILTON OVER THE LAST 12 HOURS, IT DID WEAKEN JUST A LITTLE BIT DOWN TO CATEGORY FOUR THIS MORNING, BUT NOW IT’S BACK UP TO A RAPIDLY INTENSIFYING CATEGORY FIVE. AND THIS IS A VERY CLOSE IN LOOK ON THE EYE. USING THE GOES SATELLITE IMAGERY. JUST AN INCREDIBLE LOOK ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE WAVES OF THE OCEAN THERE. THESE ARE THE STATS 165MPH PRESSURE DOWN TO 905. JUST SAW ONE HURRICANE HUNTER REPORT OF 903 WITH SOME WIND IN THERE THAT MAY BE HIGHER THAN 170MPH IN THE EYE WALL. SO WE’LL GET PROBABLY A NEW UPDATE, MAYBE EVEN BEFORE 7:00 FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER. UPDATING THE STATUS ON THIS. NOW, WHERE IS IT GOING? HERE’S THE FORECAST TRACK AS A CATEGORY FIVE HURRICANE. IT CROSSES THE LOOP CURRENT. IT WILL PROBABLY DEEPEN AND GET EVEN STRONGER IN THE NEXT 12 HOURS. THEN BY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, YOU NOTICE THE NUMBER COMES DOWN, THE WIND COMES DOWN A LITTLE BIT. IF YOU KNOW SOMEBODY WHO’S IN FLORIDA AND THEY’RE SAYING, WELL, THEY SAY IT’S ONLY GOING TO BE A ONE OR A TWO OR A THREE. FORGET THAT THIS THING HAS ALREADY WHIPPED UP A CATEGORY FIVE LEVEL STORM SURGE, AND IT IS SENDING THAT TOWARD FLORIDA’S COASTLINE. SO EVEN AS THE WIND MAY TECHNICALLY DIMINISH, THE WIND FIELD IS GOING TO GET A LOT BIGGER AND COVER MOST OF THE PENINSULA WITH AT LEAST TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS AND SEND THAT CATEGORY 4 OR 5 LEVEL STORM SURGE. MAYBE 15FT OR HIGHER INTO WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA. AND THAT INCLUDES TAMPA, BRADENTON, SARASOTA, ALL THE WAY DOWN TOWARD THE FORT MYERS AREA. IT’S STILL A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE, PASSING OVER DISNEY WORLD EARLY THURSDAY. THEN IT EMERGES BACK OUT INTO THE ATLANTIC, STAYING A HURRICANE THROUGH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. SO HERE’S WHAT THE WIND FIELD WILL LOOK LIKE USING THE VARIOUS COLORS HERE. AND YOU CAN SEE THE HOTTER THE COLORS YOU GET FROM THAT BROWN UP TO THE RED, THAT’S GREATER THAN HURRICANE FORCE. THIS IS 9:00 WEDNESDAY MORNING. WATCH WHAT HAPPENS AS THE WIND STARTS TO DECREASE A LITTLE BIT. SEE HOW THE ENTIRE SYSTEM GETS BIGGER. WELL, THAT’S GOING TO SEND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS INTO WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA, POTENTIALLY AS EARLY AS TOMORROW MIDDAY. THE EYE COMES INLAND AND IT SHOULD PASS. IT MAY GO RIGHT OVER THE THEME PARKS SOUTHWEST OF ORLANDO, DOWN AROUND KISSIMMEE, SAINT CLOUD, ORLANDO. THEN IT MOVES OFF THE COAST AGAIN WITH HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AT AROUND CAPE CANAVERAL. AND THEN IT FINALLY BEGINS TO MOVE AWAY. THAT STORM SURGE AGAIN, ALL THE PURPLE HERE WHERE IT COULD BE GREATER THAN 10 TO 15FT IF IT COMES INTO THE SOUTH, IT MAY SPARE TAMPA THE WORST, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE AWFULLY, AWFULLY CLOSE. WEATHER AROUND HERE. VERY QUIET COMPARED TO THIS. RIGHT TAYLOR WE ARE FEELING THE EFFECTS, JASON, OF THE FRONT THAT MOVED THROUGH THAT ALLOWED US TO REALLY COOL EFFECTIVELY EARLY THIS MORNING. WE KEEP THE FALL-LIKE TEMPERATURES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS FORECASTING HIGHS TOMORROW, THURSDAY, FRIDAY IN THE LOW 80S. AND I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT FRIDAY MORNING BECAUSE WE GET ANOTHER PUSH OF SOME DRIER AIR THAT’S GOING TO ALLOW OUR TEMPERATURES EARLY ON FRIDAY TO DROP INTO THE UPPER 40S IN SOME LOCATIONS, LIKE CULLMAN, GADSDEN LOW 50S ELSEWHERE. SO A LITTLE BIT OF A FALL LIKE CHILL IN THE AIR. LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR SEVEN DAY FORECAST. SO A LOT OF SUNSHINE. WE ARE GOING TO BE JUST ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL AROUND HERE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. NO RAIN THROUGH THE WEEKEND. WE WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES IN THE 50S OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH SOME OF THE COOLEST MORNINGS COMING FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND