TAMPA, Fla. -- In advance of Hurricane Milton, the Buccaneers are leaving the Tampa area early this week and heading to New Orleans on Tuesday, ahead of their Week 6 game at the Saints.
The team was able to secure the necessary hotel rooms in New Orleans to avoid having to take another flight Saturday.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton has strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph over the southern Gulf of Mexico. Its exact track is still to be determined, but Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, has begun issuing mandatory evacuations for Zones A and B and all manufactured/mobile homes.
Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the area.
"We are preparing for the highest evacuations we have ever seen, most likely since 2017," Kevin Guthrie, the Florida director of emergency management, said at a news conference. Forecasters have warned of a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge in Tampa.
The area has already seen damage from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida's Big Bend area with a Category 4 designation Sept. 26, with the storm's sheer size impacting much of the state.
The last time the Buccaneers evacuated the area for a major hurricane was in 2022, when the team headed to Miami before Hurricane Ian. It also did so in advance of Hurricane Irma in 2017, chartering four planes to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Meanwhile, the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning canceled Monday night's scheduled preseason finale against the Nashville Predators. The game initially was rescheduled from Sept. 27 due to Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive damage in the region.
The Lightning open the regular season at Carolina on Friday. There was no immediate word on whether the team would evacuate to Raleigh, North Carolina, ahead of the storm.
College sports are being impacted, too, with UCF in Orlando announcing all home athletic events Wednesday and Thursday have been canceled. That includes Wednesday's volleyball match against Colorado, Thursday's women's soccer match against Arizona and the first day of the men's tennis ITA Southeast Regional on Thursday. The volleyball match against Colorado has been rescheduled for Sunday, Oct. 13.
The school said Saturday's Big 12 home football game against Cincinnati is still scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
Coach Gus Malzahn said the Knights plan to practice Wednesday morning, before the storm's effects are expected to arrive in the Orlando area.
"We're trying to stay in our routine as best we can," Malzahn said. "We'll adjust with it. We'll have a plan no matter what happens. We've been talking through that. I think the main thing planning-wise is making sure our players are taken care of, and all the people in our program."
ESPN's Adam Schefter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.