Milton Expected to Become Category 5 Hurricane

TAMPA—Hurricane Milton is on the brink of growing into a Category 5 hurricane, and President Joe Biden approved Florida’s emergency declaration ahead of its landfall. Spotted 720 miles southeast of Tampa, Florida, as of 11 a.m. ET on Oct. 7, Milton is already a Category 4 with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale requires sustained winds of 157 mph or greater. However, Milton is still expected to weaken before landfall. The latest forecast advisory puts it less than five miles southwest of St. Pete Beach, Florida, at 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 9 with winds of 125 mph....