Hurricane Milton makes landfall, more than 1.6 million without power
Associated Press
Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds, deadly storm surge and potential flooding to much of the state.
Milton drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters, twice reaching Category 5 status.
The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) when it roared ashore in Siesta Key, Florida, at 8:30 p.m., the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane was bringing deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it moved through Florida later Wednesday evening.
Here’s the latest:
More than 1.6 million Florida customers without power
More than 1.6 million power customers in Florida were left in the dark Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton battered the state with tornadoes, flooding and strong winds.
Counties along the western coast of the peninsula were hardest hit, particularly in the central portion of the state. Nearly all of the roughly 9,600 Peace River Electric Coop customers in Hardee County were without power shortly after 10 p.m., according to the website PowerOutage.us.
Outage numbers were climbing throughout the evening but still have not yet reached the totals seen when Hurricane Ian hit Florida in 2022. That storm affected more than 4.45 million power customers over several days in four states, according to PowerOutage.us, impacting more than 9.6 million people in all.
Milton downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane
MIAMI — About 90 minutes after making landfall Wednesday night, Milton was centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of Sarasota, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported. It was moving east-northeast at 16 mph (26 kph).
The storm had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph).
The storm was no less dangerous, however; the National Weather Service also issued a rare flash flood emergency statement for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
The emergency announcement means the weather service believes extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human live and that catastrophic damage from a flash flood is either already happening or will happen soon. They are typically made when emergency officials report life-threatening water level rises resulting in rescues or evacuations.
Winds top 100 mph (160 kph) as Milton churns through Florida
SARASOTA, Fla. — Wind gusts as high as 102 miles per hour (165 km/h) were reported at a Tampa Bay-area fishing pier as Hurricane Milton pummeled Florida Wednesday night, the National Hurricane Center said.
The tropical cyclone was bringing life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding along with the extreme winds, the hurricane center said.
The weather said the hurricane sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph) as the center of the storm passed near the town of Sarasota, making the storm still a Category 3.
Search and rescue efforts underway in Florida, officials say
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Officials say search and rescue efforts are underway in Florida after dangerous tornadoes ripped through the region.
About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson posted a video to Facebook showing a 10,000 square-foot (930 square-meters) iron building that had been twisted into a crumpled heap by a tornado. The structure was where the sheriff’s office kept its patrol cars, but luckily no one was inside when it fell, Pearson said.