Traffic jams in Tampa Bay as thousands evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton

Tampa Bay motorists were stuck in traffic Monday afternoon as thousands evacuated ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Milton, now a dangerous Category 5 storm, has prompted forecasters to place nearly all of Tampa Bay under a hurricane watch. The storm is expected to make landfall somewhere along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, and Tampa Bay remains directly in its path.

Residents fleeing evacuation zones now face severe traffic jams on major highways and local roads.

Major roads such as the Howard Frankland Bridge, I-4 and parts of US 19 were crowded and slow, data collected by TomTom showed.

Around 4:30 p.m. Monday, Google Maps estimated it would take about 1 hour and 11 minutes to get to Wesley Chapel from parts of downtown Tampa — about 40 minutes longer than a normal day.

Pinellas and Pasco counties announced an evacuation of Zones A, B, C and mobile home residents Monday. In Pinellas these zones are More than half of the district’s population lives here. Hillsborough County ordered mandatory evacuations for residents in Zones A and B, as well as those living in mobile homes or flood-prone areas.

“We’ve already had a fatal confrontation with Helene and Milton is expected to bring twice as much rain as Debby and twice as much rain as Helene. This is serious. There is no place to wait. They need to take action now,” Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins said during a news conference Monday afternoon.

Estimates from a state government database suggest it could take about 23 hours to fully evacuate Zones A, B and C in Pinellas and about 20 hours to evacuate Zones A and B in Hillsborough. Tropical storm-force winds could begin in the region on Wednesday morning, hours before Milton makes landfall.

Even before Pinellas County announced mandatory evacuations, video feeds from the Florida Department of Transportation showed heavy traffic on the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Hillsborough County spokesman Chris Wilkerson said the usual guideline still applies: Evacuate tens of miles, not hundreds of miles. Residents should try to stay just outside a mandatory evacuation zone rather than risk major delays by traveling to another region, Wilkerson said.

East of Tampa, portions of I-4 were also crowded Monday afternoon around 1:30 p.m. as drivers headed toward Orlando.

Longer journeys can also become more dangerous due to a shortage of gas.

As of 4:45 p.m. Monday, more than 50 gas stations in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties were down or low on gas, according to GasBuddy, a tracking website. There are more than 300 outages nationwide, said Patrick De Haan, a GasBuddy analyst.

For example, two of the three RaceTrac locations in Pinellas had only diesel fuel left. Four of the 10 cheapest gas stations in Tampa Bay were out of regular fuel Monday afternoon. According to GasBuddy’s data, gas stations at big box stores like Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club were in great condition.

Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered authorities to suspend tolls in West Florida and Central Florida starting at 10:30 a.m. Monday. In Tampa Bay, tolls are included for the following roads:

• Suncoast Parkway
• I-4 connector
• Selmon Expressway
• Veterans Expressway
• Gateway Expressway
• 275 Express
• Pinellas Bayway
• Sunshine Skyway Bridge

The Florida Department of Transportation will also allow some drivers to ride on the shoulder on portions of I-4 and I-75 to ease traffic flow, the agency announced.

Times staff writer Romy Ellenbogen contributed to this report

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