Unless there's a dramatic shift in direction, Hurricane Morton seems destined to hit Tampa and western Florida hard. That area was impacted by Hurricane Helene, but not hit as hard as the Carolinas.
During Helene, Port Tampa closed for roughly two days and multiple ships had their stays at sea extended or cut short. It's likely that the impact will be stronger this time and that the port could face a similar, or even longer, closure.
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The port, however, has not shared any new information with the public since a statement sent on Oct. 6.
"At 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, the U.S. Coast Guard set Port Condition X-Ray, meaning the possibility of gale force winds could impact our maritime operations within 48 hours. Inbound and outbound vessel traffic to our port remains open and landside operations will continue as long as safely possible," it posted to its website. "The storm will impact our cruise schedule for Port Tampa Bay."
All Florida cruise ports are currently (as of 1:04 p.m. on Oct. 7) under condition X-Ray.
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Miami and Fort Lauderdale will be impacted
The Coast Guard, not the ports themselves decide when operations shut down and reopen. Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) explained that process on its website.
"When a storm is approaching, the U.S. Coast Guard determines appropriate hurricane readiness actions and when port operations will cease. Landside operations, including the distribution of gasoline, may still be open while operations have been halted, but access into the port may be limited to essential operations," it shared.
Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist Craig Stetzer shared on X, the former Twitter, how he expects Hurricane Milton will impact Port Everglades and PortMiami.
"For folks in South Florida, PBC, Broward, Miami-Dade, Keys, based on the overnight HAFSA model, we will see building wind and increasing squalls on Wednesday, likely in the 40-45mph range with higher gusts by Wednesday night. According to this model run, the primary feeder band sweeps through SE Fla Wednesday evening, then drier air works in resulting in a windy but partly sunny on Thursday," he wrote.
There are, however, scenarios where the impact is stronger for Southeast Florida.
"If Milton tracks farther south, then the weather would be windier Wed p.m.-Thu p.m. We are not anticipating a direct hit in SE Fla but we could see hurricane-force gusts (>75mph) if the storm is farther south when it crosses the state," he added.
Southeast Florida ports would be impacted
"Just to make sure I’m understanding, you expect 40-45mph sustained winds in Broward?" asked Justin.
Broward is the county where Fort Lauderdale is located. Miami is further south.
"I think that low-end tropical storm conditions are possible based on the present forecast. If the storm were to head farther north, then probably less. If it were farther south, then a little more," Setzer responded.
Unlike Port Tampa and Port Everglades, PortMiami only has a brief mention of the impending bad weather on its website.
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"PortMiami is monitoring Hurricane Milton closely. We ask passengers to please check their respective cruise line schedules for updates. PortMiami operations remain normal, it shared.
This is the Port Conditions scale the Coast Guard uses during bad weather:
- Whiskey: Gale-force winds (39-54 mph) are expected within 72 hours. Ports remain open, but residents are advised to exercise caution and prepare.
- X-Ray: Gale-force winds are expected within 48 hours. Ports are still open, but some restrictions may be placed to begin securing operations.
- Yankee: Gale-force winds are expected within 24 hours. Ports are closed to incoming vessels, and outbound vessels may be restricted.
- Zulu: Gale-force winds are expected within 12 hours. Ports are fully closed to all incoming and outgoing vessels, and all operations cease.
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