Hurricane Milton reaches category 3 and strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico

Milton has strengthened and has become a hurricane category 3, on the Saffir-Cimpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h, according to the latest update of the National Hurricane Center (NHC in its acronym in English).

Likewise, the Government of Mexico updated its data at 5 a.m. local time, confirming category 3 for the hurricane and establishing warnings about the arrival of strong and intense rains to the northeast, east, south and southeast of the country, including the peninsula of Yucatan.

Previously, the Government of Mexico had issued a notice for the Hurricane Milton for the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula which continued its movement over the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Mexican authority of the National Water Commission (Conagua), currently the center of the hurricane It is located 235 km west-northwest of Celestún and warns about the arrival of very intense rains in Campache and Yucatán, and very strong in Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco y Quintana Roo.

In addition, the commission foresees gusts of wind of 100 to 120 km/h, waves of 3 to 5 meters high with possible formation of waterspouts on the coasts of Campeche and Yucatán, along with gusts of 60 to 80 km/h with waves of 1 to 3 meters high on the coast of Tamaulipas Veracruz, Tabasco and Quintana Roo.

Among the recommendations of the Mexican authority, extreme precautions are requested for the general population in the areas of the mentioned states due to rain, wind and waves (including maritime navigation).

The new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum warned this Sunday that the circulation of Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico will cause very heavy rains to occasionally intense rains in states in the northeast, east, south and southeast of the country, including the Yucatan Peninsula.

“Even though it remains away from the Mexican coasts (Category 1 Hurricane Milton, intense rains are expected to occur during the next few hours in Veracruz, Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, the coasts of Tamaulipas and Yucatán.“said the president in a message on social networks.

For his part, the National Hurricane Center had advanced in a statement this morning that the storm is 1,200 kilometers southwest of Tampa, Florida and could make landfall next Wednesday as a potentially destructive Category 3 hurricane.

At the moment a hurricane warning is maintained for the coast of the Gulf of Florida from Chokoloskee north to the mouth of the Suwanee River.

The arrival of the new tropical storm in Florida comes ten days after Helene made landfall in that state, becoming the deadliest hurricane in the US since Katrina.