Less than 10 days after Helene made landfall, Florida braces for another hurricane, potentially a Category 3

By Allison Chinchar and Elisa Raffa, CNN

(CNN) — Less than 10 days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, the state is bracing for another potentially devastating blow from a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico, this one a potential Category 3 storm.

Tropical Storm Milton formed in the western Gulf on Saturday morning, just hours after it became a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said in a special alert. The 13th named storm, which uses the letter M, is running ahead of pace – it doesn’t usually occur until October 25.

Milton is forecast to strengthen and bring life-threatening impacts to portions of the west coast of Florida next week. With very low vertical wind shear and incredibly warm sea-surface temperatures, Milton will be able to gain steady to rapid strength over the next few days.

“The official intensity forecasts call for Milton to become a hurricane in about 36 hours, and a major hurricane by 72 hours,” according to an update from the National Hurricane Center.

The storm is expected to “quickly intensify while it moves eastward to northeastward across the Gulf of Mexico and be at or near major hurricane strength when it reaches the west coast of the Florida Peninsula mid week,” the hurricane center said. As of Saturday afternoon, it is projected to make landfall in Florida at up to Category 3 strength, with 115 mph winds.

Major hurricane is a term designated for hurricanes of Category 3 strength or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. For a hurricane to become a Category 3 storm, winds at its center must be sustained at 111 mph.

Hurricane watches, as well as storm surge watches, will likely be issued for portions of the Florida coast on Sunday – a dangerous storm surge is expected for some areas just affected by Helene.

In preparation for the storm, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 35 counties Saturday, according to a release from his office.

“Regardless of development, locally heavy rains could occur over portions of Mexico during the next day or two, and over much of Florida late this weekend through the middle of next week,” the NHC said.

The storm threat comes after Helene made landfall September 26 on Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 4 and created a 500-mile path of destruction with catastrophic flooding, damaging winds and power outages. Local authorities have reported more than 200 deaths across six states and fear the number could rise.

Helene was one of the largest storms the Gulf of Mexico has seen in the last century.

The latest storm forecast at this point calls for widespread totals of 4 to 6 inches of rain across almost the full length of the state, from Gainesville down through Key West, with isolated higher amounts up to 10 inches possible through Thursday. Tampa has already seen more than 20 inches of rainfall above normal for the year. Cities like Melbourne, Jacksonville, Naples and Fort Myers all have more than a foot of surplus rainfall so far this year as well.

There is also an increasing risk of storm surge for the western Florida Peninsula as early as late Tuesday or Wednesday. Damaging winds, tornadoes and waterspouts will also be possible next week.

The hurricane center is warning people in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the Florida Peninsula, the Florida Keys, as well as the Bahamas to closely monitor this system this weekend and early next week for any impacts.

CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa contributed to this report.

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