The latest weather brief concerning Hurricane Milton and the Florida Keys of Monroe County is below.
- Hurricane Milton will move northeastward and make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida this evening. Milton is currently a Category 3 hurricane and could still be a major hurricane when it reaches the 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.
- 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 evening through Thursday morning. Storm surge flooding will persist into Thursday night for the Bayside communities of the Upper Keys. Atlantic-facing shorelines will continue to experience crashing waves and overwash through tonight, leading to saltwater flooding in the adjacent neighborhoods. Water levels for these routinely vulnerable neighborhoods could approach 2 to 2.5 feet above ground level.
- Tropical storm-force wind gusts are ongoing across the Florida Keys. Near tropical storm-force winds likely will linger through noon on Thursday.
- Thundery squalls with localized wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph through Thursday morning. Observations across the Florida Keys continue to sample wind gusts up to 55 to 60 mph during passing squalls. These squalls will also bring blinding downpours and cause ponding in low-elevation areas and streets.
- Potential for isolated tornadoes across the Upper Keys 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 midnight Thursday.
Briefings are also posted to https://www.weather.gov/media/key/DSS/dssbrief_land.pdf