Hurricane Milton: Parts of Georgia under Tropical Storm Watch as Milton moves closer to landfall

ATLANTA — Hurricane Milton could be an “extremely life-threatening situation,” according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest update.

Overnight, the storm weakened some to a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 155 mph sustained wind. At one point yesterday, Milton was the fifth strongest storm on record in the Atlantic basin with winds of 180 mph.

While Milton is forecast to weaken some to a Category 3 hurricane at landfall, Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan says the wind field of the storm will be huge.

“That enormous tropical storm wind field – maybe up to about 300 miles across – will push a potential catastrophic storm surge onshore near and south of the center of Milton,” Monahan said.

Severe Weather Team 2 is continuing to track Hurricane Milton and will have all the latest updates on WSBTV.com and Channel 2 Action News at Noon.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Severe Weather Team 2 App for alerts wherever you go]

Most all of Florida’s Gulf Coast is under either a Tropical Storm Warning or a Hurricane Warning. As of 5 a.m. on Tuesday, parts of coastal Georgia are under a Tropical Storm Watch.

[INTERACTIVE: StormTracker 2HD Radar]

Monahan also said southeast Georgia should will see some rain, stronger wind gusts, and storm surge from Milton, but metro Atlanta and north Georgia will only see sunshine and breezy weather as the storm passes to the southeast.

Parts of Florida have been placed under mandatory evacuation orders with thousands of people flocking north into Georgia looking for refuge from the storm.

The National Hurricane Center recommends finishing all preparations and leaving potentially dangerous areas by Tuesday night.

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