Florida residents in the path of Hurricane Milton were instructed to hunker down as the massive storm hit the state.
The hurricane made landfall early Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key.
The storm brought destructive tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge across multiple areas
More than 545,000 customers were without power across the Sunshine State, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US.
While Milton’s intensity continues to fluctuate, weakening to a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center predicts it will be “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.
Federal and state officials have urged those in Milton’s path to evacuate to avoid “catastrophic” winds, up to 18in rainfall and up to 15ft of storm surge, before the major hurricane slams into Florida’s west-central coast.
Vice President Kamala Harris warned that even the toughest Floridians won’t weather the “historic” hurricane, she said on The Late Show on Tuesday night.
Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche told CNN on Wednesday that officers will stay on the streets until Milton’s winds top 45mph.
“If people need help, we’re not going to be able to come to them,” he said.
Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:39
How is Hurricane Milton pulling water out of Tampa Bay?
Even as some parts of Florida’s coast experience storm surge, Hurricane Milton has pushed water out of Tampa Bay.
The phenomenon is called reverse or negative storm surge.
It occurs when the hurricane’s counterclockwise winds from the northern eyewall pull water out of Tampa Bay into the Gulf of Mexico.
But, when the wind direction changes, the water can refill in just a matter of minutes.
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:38
Storm surge pours into Venice as Milton starts to makes landfall
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:30
Sarasota County Sheriff says Milton is a ‘unique’ storm
“This storm is really unique,” Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman spoke told NBC News on Wednesday night.
He said Milton has aspects of previous storms “rolled into one.”
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:26
‘Catastrophic flash flooding’ with threats to life, property expected around Tampa
The National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center warned of extreme rainfall from Tampa to the north-central Florida peninsula Wednesday, which is expected to result in “catastrophic flash flooding” with “considerable threats to life and property.
“6-hr rainfall totals of at least 5-8 inches with hourly rainfall in the 2-3 in/hr range are expected,” the agency said.
Portions of St. Petersburg to Bradenton have already picked up 5-8 inches of rain since midnight, and flash flooding is ongoing in those areas.
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:13
Hurricane Milton will make landfall in the next hour or two just south of Tampa Bay
Hurricane Milton was moving toward the east-northeast near 15mph Wednesday night.
On the forecast track, the center of the storm will make landfall just south of the Tampa Bay region within the next hour or two. After that, it will move across the central part of the Florida peninsula, and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday.
Julia Musto10 October 2024 01:04
