“10:55 CDT Monday Update: Milton rapidly intensifies into a category 5 hurricane. Data from a @53rdWRS hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to 160 mph (250 km/h) with higher gusts,” the NHC wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Monday (October 7).

Milton “rapidly intensified” into a Category 5 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday

Image credits: NHC_Atlantic

Milton is predicted to make landfall as a major hurricane in the Tampa Bay area on the Gulf Coast of Florida sometime between 1 p.m. Wednesday (October 9) and 1 a.m. Thursday (October 10), according to the NHC.

In their 8 am report, the NHC noted that Milton had reached maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, marking an 25-mph increase over the course of an hour.

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