Hurricane Milton timeline: See the storm’s evolution from space

• Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4, is expected to hit Florida’s west coast on Wednesday.
• Milton quickly intensified Monday, with winds reaching 180 mph.
• NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite is tracking the storm as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico.

The Sunshine State is bracing for more severe weather in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

Hurricane Milton quickly intensified to a Category 5 storm, prompting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency for 51 counties along Florida’s west coast.

Several counties, including Charlotte, Hillsborough and Manatee, have mandatory evacuation orders, with more expected as the storm approaches.

See the rapid evolution of Hurricane Milton from space

Sunday’s maximum wind speed in Milton was 65 mph. By Monday, it had grown to 155 mph as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center.

NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite is tracking Hurricane Milton from space. Here’s a snapshot of the storm’s development, starting early Saturday afternoon as a tropical storm with 35 mph winds.

Here’s what it looked like Monday afternoon as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum winds of 180 mph. NOAA meteorologists said the storm was moving erratically through the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Milton is one of the fastest intensifying storms in the Atlantic basin.

“This rate of intensification is the third for the Atlantic basin, behind Hurricane Wilma (2005) and Hurricane Felix (2007), which intensified at 105 mph and 100 mph, respectively,” said Stephanie Zick, associate professor in the Department of in Geology from Virginia Tech. Business Insider in an email.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station shot this video Monday morning while flying over the Category 5 storm from a safe distance of 250 miles above Earth.

Zick said the reason for Milton’s rapid intensification is partly due to the size of the storm’s eyewall — the region of storminess and strong winds just outside the calm, central eye.

“The storm started with a relatively small eye,” Zick said. “Furthermore, the eyewall contracts as it intensifies, just as the rotational speed of an ice skater accelerates as they pull their arms inward.”

By Tuesday morning, Hurricane Milton had lost some of its strength and is now a Category 4. That’s not necessarily good news for Florida.

Even if the storm weakens, Zick said, its eye could grow, which would increase the overall wind field.

“The higher wind field will generate more surge, so it’s important for Florida residents to follow evacuation orders, regardless of the exact intensity,” Zick said.

Milton is forecast to make landfall over Florida near Tampa on Wednesday evening. You can see it approaching the state in one of the latest satellite images taken Tuesday morning by GOES-16.

If the storm makes landfall during high tide, it could bring a storm surge of up to 10 to 15 feet into Tampa Bay, according to the NHC.

Hurricane season is not over

With Hurricane Milton following close behind Hurricane Helene, which made landfall over Florida on September 26, it may seem like this sudden increase in storms is out of the ordinary.

Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane season forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said that’s not the case.

Storms forming over the Gulf are typical for October, although it’s slightly unusual to see this level of activity so early in the month because it usually happens in the second half, he said.

Rosencrans added that Milton likely isn’t the last storm we’ll see this season.

He advised people who are not affected now but live in hurricane-prone areas to double-check their supplies and be prepared.

“Unfortunately, hurricane season doesn’t end until Nov. 30, so I can’t say this is the last,” he said.