Hurricane Milton – Florida Under Warning – International Ops 2024

Hurricane Milton is rapidly intensifying over the Southern Gulf of Mexico.

Its forecast has been upgraded by the National Hurricane Center with ‘explosive’ growth to Category 5 strength expected in the coming hours.

Initial impacts will be to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico before a northeasterly track puts Florida at high risk from Wednesday.

Impacts to aviation are expected to be significant. Here is a summary of the current situation as at 2230z Oct 7 – we will continue to keep this briefing updated.

Mexico

A hurricane warning is now in effect for a large portion of the Northern Yucatan Peninsula. The most significant impacts will be felt from early on Tuesday morning.

MMMD/Mérida is currently closed until at least 2100z on Oct 8.

MMUN/Cancun and MMCZ/Cozumel have not published closures, but this may change in the coming hours.

Gulf Routes

Route closures are expected to be widespread as Milton crosses eastern portions of the Gulf of Mexico over the next 48 hours.

The FAA publishes advisories for these here. At time of writing, routes L207, L208, A766, A770 and M580 are all unavailable.

Florida

Florida’s Gulf Coast is now under a hurricane watch.

Milton is expected to make landfall near Tampa, FL on Wednesday afternoon as a major Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 110kts.

Its forecast track passes over Orlando before Milton will cross the Atlantic Coast south of Daytona Beach shortly afterwards.

Airport Closures

The following major airports have now published Notams for planned closures (with more to follow):

KTPA/Tampa Closed Oct 8 1800z – Oct 11 1200z (est.)

KPIE/St.Pete-Clearwater Closed Oct 8 1600z – Oct 11 2000z (est.)

KSRQ/Bradenton Closed Oct 8 2000z – Oct 11 1000z (est.)

KMCO/Orlando Closed Oct 9 1200z – Oct 10 1800z (est.)

KMLB/Melbourne Orlando Closed Oct 9 1800z – Oct 11 1300z (est.)

The FAA has activated telcon briefings twice daily at 1230z and 2200z. You can join by dialling 1-540-359-3200 and using the pin 2333#.

Protective shutdown of important airport equipment can be expected in the hours prior to Milton’s arrival which can affect the availability of instrument approaches at major airports. This often occurs before the airports themselves close completely.

Stay Informed

For live operational updates, keep an eye on the FAA NASS website which will be updated constantly as Milton passes.

The National Hurricane Center will provide accurate forecasts and tracking info here.

If you have an update to share regarding airport or airspace status, please get in touch with us via news@ops.group.

Hurricane Milton – Florida Under Warning