The models do have it going down to “only” cat 3 at landfall thanks to some aggressive wind shear closer to florida. The wind shear will spread out the high winds a bit, decreasing the max wind speed, but exposing a wider area to hurricane strength winds.
This is looking really bad.
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-10-07-hurricane-milton-forecast-florida-storm-surge-wind-flooding
The models do have it going down to “only” cat 3 at landfall thanks to some aggressive wind shear closer to florida. The wind shear will spread out the high winds a bit, decreasing the max wind speed, but exposing a wider area to hurricane strength winds.
https://youtu.be/8HtnqOnj9tU
I really hope Tampa is ready for this level of storm surge and winds.