As Hurricane Milton roared toward the west coast of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, its 180-mile-per-hour winds weakened to 145 miles per hour, rose again, and then fell. What had been one of the quickest ever storms to reach Category 5 strength—which is when wind speeds top 156 mph—flicked back and forth between Categories 4 and 5. It ultimately arrived at the coast on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, with winds of 125 mph.
But while Milton’s wind speed was reduced, the inundation of water forecast for Florida remained just as massive as before. Tampa, a city of 3 million that hasn’t taken