Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida as thousands flee

The mayor of Tampa, Florida, said tankers are on their way to refill gas stations in the area as residents evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.

23:56 08/10/2024

Tankers are coming to replenish fuel supply, Tampa mayor says

The mayor of Tampa, Florida, said tankers are on their way to refill gas stations in the area as residents evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.

“The tankers are coming out of the port to replenish those filing stations as quick as they can,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

She pointed to one gas station in her neighborhood that was out of fuel on Monday, but is back with availability today. Castor urged people to be patient, but reiterated that “we have the gas situation covered in our city.”

Hurricane Milton expected to be at least a billion-dollar disaster, as number of costly disasters climbs

Hurricane Milton is already projected to be at least a $1 billion disaster, adding to a growing number of such disasters in the US, according to a NOAA official.

The current tally for billion-dollar extreme weather disasters in the US is hovering around 23 or 24 so far this year, according to Adam Smith, a climatologist with NOAA who helps compile the government’s count of expensive extreme weather disasters.

That number is unofficial and likely to change. Smith told CNN in an email that the tally includes hurricanes Debbie, Helene and Milton, which NOAA plans to add to the list – and it could possibly also add a separate complex of severe summer storms.

“It will be a while before we can get our first sense of the magnitude of costs,” Smith said. NOAA anticipates both Helene and Milton’s impacts will cost “a multiple of tens of billions of dollars each.”

Last year, the US had a record 23 disasters costing at least $1 billion by September – with 28 such disasters in the calendar year, the most ever recorded.

Year-round disasters and stronger storms are straining the federal budget; even though FEMA was recently awarded $20 billion for response and recovery, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said her agency will need more funding from Congress by December or January – otherwise FEMA will have to temporarily suspend its longer-term recovery efforts.

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, where Smith works, is located in Asheville, North Carolina, and was impacted by Helene. As Asheville remains without water, NCEI is lacking the water it needs to cool its computer infrastructure – meaning the center will have to wait weeks to update its weather, climate and billion-dollar-disaster reports.

Small "wobbles” in Milton’s track could have major implications

With just over a day until Milton hits the Florida coast, forecasters are cautioning people not to let their guard down and to prepare for critical potential last second “wobbles” of the storm’s track.

Interaction with land and various atmospheric factors can cause a hurricane to wobble or shift its track seemingly without warning. These small shifts have big consequences: They could put locations previously thought to be relatively safer in incredible danger.

That’s why it’s important to pay attention to the cone, not just the landfall point. The cone represents where the hurricane’s center is likely to track about 60 to 70% of the time.

The current forecast has landfall occurring just north of Sarasota Wednesday night and takes Milton’s center just south of Tampa. This track will put the Tampa Bay area in danger from some of Milton’s worst rain and winds and will drive storm surge to near-record levels.

But a shift in landfall just a few miles north – still well within the cone – could usher in worst case scenario, catastrophic storm surge to the area. A southward wobble of the track within the cone could drive higher levels of surge than currently forecast into an area like Fort Myers.

Mountain of Helene debris being dumped at Florida State Fairgrounds ahead of Hurricane Milton

Heavy machinery and dump trucks are quickly delivering debris left over from Hurricane Helene to the Florida State Fairgrounds in Hillsborough County Tuesday before the rubbish can be swept up by the strong winds of Hurricane Milton.

Landfills in nearby Pinellas County are filling up, a fairgrounds worker told CNN’s Isabel Rosales Tuesday.

“There’s been a rush to pick up as much debris as possible,” before Milton hits, said St. Petersburg City Administrator, Rob Gerdes, during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Crews have been working around-the-clock since Sunday to get dangerous would-be projectiles – everything from furniture to mattresses – out of neighborhoods.

Over 300 dump trucks are removing debris left over from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago. In just the past 24 hours, 1,200 truckloads of debris, or about 22,000 cubic yards, have been removed from hard-hit areas.

Multiple agencies are assisting local governments with debris removal at the direction of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Transportation said in a statement.

“Given the supplemental removal efforts being provided by State personnel, the Florida State Fairgrounds was proactively identified as an additional location,” the statement said.

The amount of debris collected in the St. Petersburg area has not been quantified, Gerdes said, but “It’s been all hands on deck, pick up every piece of debris that we can.”

Florida gas stations were already running out of fuel. Hurricane Milton could cause more issues

Demand for fuel has surged in Florida as evacuees flee Hurricane Milton’s projected path, while others who are staying put fill gas tanks so they can power generators if they lose electricity.

As of Tuesday morning, 14.5% of gas stations statewide were without fuel — a dramatic spike from 3% on Monday, the gas price-tracking service GasBuddy reported. The situation was far worse in areas with mandatory evacuation orders. In Fort Myers, on the Gulf Coast, 70% of stations had no gas Monday night.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tried to tamp down panic buying, which can make shortages worse. He said 1.2 million gallons of gas and diesel fuel were en route to various parts of the state Tuesday, with more in reserves.

But Florida could face extended problems getting fuel into the state if the Port of Tampa gets damaged by Milton, market experts said.