As Hurricane Milton approaches the Tampa area, concerns are rising about the potential for storm surge flooding due to the coinciding of the storm's landfall with rising tide levels. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center indicates that Milton's landfall is now expected to occur very late Wednesday night into early Thursday, aligning with the high tide cycle.
With the Tampa Bay area experiencing low tide in the afternoon on Wednesday, water levels are projected to naturally rise as the tide cycle progresses into the evening and overnight hours. In St. Petersburg, water levels are forecasted to increase by nearly 3 feet between the low tide at 2:04 pm on Wednesday and the high tide at 5:59 am on Thursday.
