Milton delivers new round of beach erosion, storm surge to southern Atlantic coast
Coastal communities from northeastern Florida to the Carolinas will deal with another onslaught from the sea with building surf and beach erosion due to a glancing blow from Hurricane Milton into Thursday night.
Hurricane Milton ripped apart the Tropicana Field roof early Thursday morning in St. Petersburg, Florida. The stadium was to be used as shelter during the storm. Beds can be seen scattered around the field.
AccuWeather meteorologists continue to warn that the worst impacts from Milton will be across the Gulf Coast of Florida due to storm surge, tremendous rainfall and powerful wind gusts with a RealImpact™ of a 5. As the potent system moves along, it will also significantly impact the Atlantic coast from Florida to the Carolinas. Meanwhile, the former powerful Hurricane Kirk will impact parts of Europe as a rainstorm.
Milton is heading out to sea, but was still a hurricane as the day began.
However, some rain continued to wrap around the storm's backside into east-central and northeastern Florida. Gusty winds, while less intense than those from Wednesday and Wednesday night, can still bring down trees and power lines, especially where the soil remains saturated.
The combination of high pressure to the north and Kirk, once a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale over the central Atlantic, created pounding surf and strong rip currents this past weekend to the first part of this week from east-central Florida to the Carolinas and Virginia.
Before this, multiple tropical systems this summer generated storm surges and large waves that tore away at the shoreline and beachfront homes.
A third home in a week has collapsed into the ocean along the coast of North Carolina. This vacant home in Rodanthe, North Carolina, collapsed on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Now Milton is agitating winds and seas along the Atlantic coast with the worst conditions likely through Thursday.
Winds are forecast to be strong enough (gusts between 40 and 60 mph) to trigger tree damage and localized power outages at least along the Georgia and Carolina coasts through Thursday night.
The AccuWeather RealImpact™ scale for Hurricanes is a 5 for Milton due to overall effects, but largely due to the magnitude of the storm in central Florida. As Milton emerged on the Florida Atlantic coast, it has been far less intense in terms of wind, but it still brought and will continue to bring significant impacts due to storm surge, coastal erosion, wind and rain.
A storm surge of 1-3 feet is forecast along much of the South Carolina coast, but that increases to 3-6 feet along the Georgia and northeastern Florida coastlines. Wave action on top of that will do considerable damage to the beaches and dunes. The combination of astronomical tides and storm surge can lead to major flooding at high tide on Thursday afternoon in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts™ with Premium+
As Milton speeds off to the east-northeast late this week and weekend, seas will gradually subside. However, some beaches may remain hazardous for swimmers depending on the scope of the damage that may have exposed prior buried structures.
Drenching rain will extend as far to the north as southeastern Georgia and part of the South Carolina coast. Enough rain can fall in this zone from through Thursday evening to lead to localized flooding.
Major flooding is anticipated over northern and central Florida as the torrential rain that already fell slowly works into the river systems.
AccuWeather meteorologists continue to stress that impacts from Milton will remain distant from the hardest-hit Helene areas of western North Carolina, Georgia, eastern Tennessee and western South Carolina. Much of this zone will remain in a dry weather pattern through this week and into next.
Kirk to still cause trouble, ease drought in Europe
Meanwhile, Kirk, a tropical wind and rainstorm, blasted ashore in western Europe from Tuesday to Wednesday. The former major hurricane brought locally torrential rain and gusty winds that can lead to travel problems.
As Kirk presses inland and is absorbed with a totally different storm system later in the week, some beneficial rain may fall on hard-hit drought areas in eastern and southeastern Europe.
Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts™ are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Report a Typo
