Many areas of Florida that were cleaning up for Hurricane Helene are now dealing with the destructive forces of Hurricane Milton. The National Hurricane Center said it could be among the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.

Many orange groves throughout Florida were approaching harvest. Jon Davis, chief meteorologist at Everstream Analytics, expects major production losses. Many of the producers in this region were still recovering from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.

The eastward projection of Hurricane Milton’s path puts it in a position to significantly impact the Florida citrus industry. The storm could also have an outsized impact on the fertilizer industry. Nearly 40% of Ammonium phosphate production is located around Tampa Bay. Senior economist at The Fertilizer Institute Veronica Nigh said the Port of Tampa handles around 25% of U.S. fertilizer exports.

Read more on the impact of Hurricane Milton here.