Three destroyers will leave Naval Station Mayport ahead of Hurricane Milton, expected to make landfall around Tampa, Fla., Wednesday night.
USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) and USS Lassen (DDG-82) will sortie to sea, according to a press release from Navy Region Southeast. Other ships remaining at Mayport will don heavy weather moorings. Aircraft will either remain in hangars or leave naval air stations ahead of the storm.
“We practice for these situations whether storms approach our area or not,” Rear Adm. Carlos Sardiello, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet, said in the release. “Our Sailors will take the appropriate measures to, once again, safely execute our hurricane-sortie plans in support of fleet operations.”
Thomas Hudner and Lassen sortied from Mayport in late September ahead of Hurricane Helene, which came up the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall in Florida before moving through Georgia and the southeast. Asheville, N.C., particularly, suffered from flooding as a result of Helene.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration tracking predicts Milton will make landfall around Tampa then move through central Florida to the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday morning. Mayport is currently in the hurricane’s predicted cone of activity.
