Hurricane Milton Path: Latest Updates for How Storm is Impacting Travel for Airlines, Cruise Lines, and More

08.10.2024 - 18:50 / travelpulse.com / North America / Rich Thomaselli

Update: October 8, 2024, at 1:40 p.m. ET

Hurricane Milton is around 500 miles southwest of Tampa and moving as a strong Category 4 storm packing winds of 150 miles per hour and growing. Tropical-storm-force winds have been recorded up to 105 miles from the center.

According to Weather.com, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.”

Here are the Tuesday 10 am CDT #Hurricane#Milton Key Messages - The latest full advisory is at https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJpic.twitter.com/rNlYvXT3XV

Hurricane warnings cover much of central Florida, including the Tampa Bay area, Fort Myers, Orlando, and Daytona Beach. Tropical storm watches and warnings cover other parts of Florida, southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina.

A High Risk of Excessive Rainfall has been issued for parts of the central/northern FL Peninsula beginning tomorrow (Wednesday). Inland and coastal flooding may combine to increase the overall flood threat and produce the risk of life-threatening flash flooding. #FLwxpic.twitter.com/AD58wEw48U

Flight tracking website FlightAware.com revealed that nearly 1,200 flights within, into, or out of the United States were delayed, while another 700-plus were canceled, as of Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET. More than 1,500 flights scheduled for Wednesday have already been canceled.

A hurricane warning covers a large portion of Florida, including Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando, and the Atlantic coast from Vero Beach to Daytona Beach. pic.twitter.com/bFLKn0PzTL

Update: October 8, 2024, at 8:15 a.m. ET

Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm that continues to strengthen as it makes its way toward Florida, bringing with it potentially historic storm surge, widespread wind damage, flooding rainfall and tornadoes, starting on Wednesday.

According to Weather.com, Milton will weaken gradually on approach to Florida due to increasing wind shear and dry air, but should remain a Category 3 hurricane as it makes landfall sometime later Wednesday into early Thursday.

4 am CDT - Extremely powerful Hurricane #Milton is just north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it reaches Florida Wednesday night. This is a very serious threat and residents in Florida are urged to listen to local officials.… pic.twitter.com/UifYnQO9rf

Florida government officials said that all hurricane preparations should be rushed to completion on Tuesday and evacuation orders should be heeded. The National Hurricane Center is forecasting storm surge as much as 10 to 15 feet above ground level along the western Florida Gulf Coast, including the Tampa Bay area.

Hurricane Hunters from both the U.S. Air Force and NOAA are