Lee County under tornado watch as Hurricane Milton nears
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for all of Lee County through 9 p.m. as well as Charlotte County, Collier County and 20 other counties down to Miami-Dade County.
The latest National Weather Service update has Hurricane Milton landing at 2 a.m. Thursday morning as a Category 4 somewhere between Tampa and Fort Myers Beach. The outer rain bands from Milton will be felt in the next few hours along with strong winds which could pose a tornado threat.
National Weather Service meteorologist Rick Davis said Fort Myers Beach and the coastal communities throughout Lee County up to Charlotte Harbor are at risk of eight to 12 feet of storm surge.
Davis said the “eyewall is expanding. Even if you don’t take a direct hit there is going to be eight to 12 feet of storm surge,” Davis said.
“All the ingredients are there for a catastrophic event for the area,” Davis said.
Hurricane Milton is currently projected to bring 130 mph winds at landfall. “The outer rainbands are already moving ashore. We are seeing very heavy rainfall,” Davis said. “It would be very unsafe to be on the roads right now.”
Lee County Public Safety Director Ben Abes said the county was advising residents to stay off the roads once wind speeds reach 40 miles per hour though the county is also still advising residents to head to emergency shelters if road conditions are not yet hazardous. More than 6,000 people are in shelters. There still is room, county officials said.
A complete list of county shelters can be found at www.leegov.com/storm.
For those on the barrier islands who were issued mandatory evacuation orders for Tuesday evening, county officials are advising those still on the islands to shelter in place as conditions begin deteriorating this afternoon as rain from the outer bands of the hurricane and stronger winds pick up.
The Florida Highway Patrol as of noon was reporting traffic on Alligator Alley to be light though urging caution for anyone traveling due to the ongoing tornado watch.
To reach NATHAN MAYBERG, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com