The latest weather brief concerning Hurricane Milton and the Florida Keys of Monroe County is below.
- Hurricane Milton will move northeastward across the Gulf of Mexico and approach the west coast of Florida today, then make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida tonight. Milton is currently a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the west-central Florida coast.
- A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for all of the Florida Keys from Ocean Reef to Key West.
- A Coastal Flood Warning remains in effect for all of the Florida Keys.
- A Hurricane Watch remains in effect for the Dry Tortugas.
- A Tornado Watch remains in effect for all the Florida Keys through this evening.
- Potential impacts to the Florida Keys from Hurricane Milton include:
- Storm Surge flooding, with saltwater flooding of 1 to 3 feet above ground level in low-elevation areas from this afternoon through Thursday morning, and likely into Thursday afternoon and Thursday night on the Bayside of the Upper Keys. Atlantic-facing shorelines will continue to experience crashing waves and overwash through today and into tonight, leading to saltwater flooding in the adjacent neighborhoods.
- Potential (a little less than a 1-in-5 chance) for sustained tropical storm-force winds of 40 to 50 mph. Tropical storm-force wind gusts are ongoing across the Florida Keys. Near tropical storm-force winds likely will linger through Thursday morning.
- Thundery squalls with localized wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph through Thursday morning. The Key West International Airport recently gusted to 59 mph during a passing squall. These squalls will also bring blinding downpours and cause ponding in low-elevation areas and streets.
- Potential for isolated tornadoes through this evening.
- Additional rainfall of around 1 inch, with localized totals up to 2 inches, is possible through Thursday morning. Flooding of low-elevation streets and poor drainage areas will be possible in areas impacted by heavy downpours. Persistent areas of water will contain a mix of salt and freshwater.
- Residents and visitors in the Florida Keys should be in the hunker-down phase as tropical storm-force wind gusts are ongoing.
The next update is scheduled for 6:00 PM Wednesday.
Briefings are also posted to https://www.weather.gov/media/key/DSS/dssbrief_land.pdf