Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, is primed to hammer central Florida later this week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers want no part of it.
The team announced Monday that it changed its travel plans to avoid the storm, which is expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The Buccaneers will leave Tampa on Tuesday morning and practice in New Orleans ahead of Sunday’s game against the Saints.
Before it makes landfall, Milton is “rapidly intensifying” in the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center designated the storm as a Category 5 hurricane on Monday morning as winds exceeded 160 miles per hour.
While Milton may not make landfall until Thursday, weather experts warned that life-threatening storm surges and flooding could arrive as early as Tuesday.
Florida and several other southeastern states are still grappling with the damage caused by Hurricane Helene last month.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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