More than 3 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power on Thursday morning after Hurricane Milton made landfall as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm near Siesta Key.
Milton, now a Category 1 hurricane, is currently moving northeast off Florida's coast. However, the storm is "still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall," the National Hurricane Center said Thursday morning.
"There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along the coast from east-central Florida northward to southern Georgia," meteorologists said.
Milton made landfall in Florida just weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm.
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Nicole Darrah
Photos show flooded streets, storm debris after Hurricane Milton passes through
Storm debris is seen in Sarasota, Fla. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Surge waters flooded the streets in Fort Myers, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A vehicle is stranded in floodwaters in Brandon, Fla. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images)
Boats at Marina Jack in Sarasota. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Nicole Darrah
Crane collapses in St. Petersburg
A construction crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg on Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton tore through the area. Video shows the crane down on the street, surrounded by debris. According to local Fox affiliate WTVT, city officials said no one was injured in the collapse.
Nicole Darrah
Tampa mayor: 'It's not over'
The mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, told reporters on Thursday morning that even though Hurricane Milton is moving away from Florida, "it's not over."
Castor said that while it's "pretty calm out there right now," the city has still seen "extensive damage." Once the sun comes out, she said, utility workers will start working to get power restored for Hillsborough County, which has reported more than half a million customer outages.
“At 7:00 this morning, when high tide comes in, rivers are going to flood all over Hillsborough County, not just in the city of Tampa," the mayor said. She pleaded with residents to "please stay inside" while officials assess the damage and "make sure it's safe for you to go back out into your community."
Nicole Darrah
Multiple fatalities reported in St. Lucie County after tornadoes touch down, sheriff says
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said that "multiple fatalities" were reported at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village, a senior community in Fort Pierce, after tornadoes touched down in the area on Wednesday, WPTV reported.
Pearson also said, according to WPEC, that a facility within the sheriff's headquarters was destroyed by what he described as a "devastating tornado."
A video shared on the St. Lucie County Facebook page on Thursday appeared to show a tornado passing through a parking lot. "While Hurricane Milton has left our area, St. Lucie County experienced significant damage from multiple tornados that impacted our area," the post read. "First responders and public works/utility crews are conducting [recovery] efforts."
Dylan Stableford
Pinellas County residents ordered to stay off roads
Even though the storm has passed, residents in Pinellas County, Fla., woke up to an emergency alert on their phones ordering them to shelter in place to allow first responders to complete rescue and recovery efforts.
"Many roads impassable due to downed power lines, fallen trees, debris," the alert said. "YOU MUST STAY OFF THE ROADS until advised otherwise by county officials."
Emergency alert just went out, asking local residents to stay sheltered and off the roads, with extensive damage across Tampa Bay. They want to make sure roads are cleared so emergency response crews can access the damage this morning. #Miltonpic.twitter.com/KivvLB77y9
St. Petersburg, located in Pinellas County, saw over 17 inches of rain after Milton made landfall Wednesday night, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood emergency. Local news outlet WTSP described the rain as a "1-in-500-year flooding event" for the city.
Dylan Stableford
Milton is moving off Florida's east coast
In its 5 a.m. ET advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Milton is moving off Florida's east coast but "still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall" in the east-central part of the state.
Milton, now a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, is about 10 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral and is moving northeast at 18 mph.
The storm is expected to move away from Florida and north of the Bahamas.
And there is a sliver of good news for those along the Gulf Coast: "All Hurricane and Tropical Storm Warnings have been discontinued for the west coast of Florida," the advisory said.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Nicole Darrah
More than 3 million without power in Florida
As of 6:15 a.m. ET, more than 3.2 million utility customers were without power in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
Archie Collins, the president and CEO of Tampa Electric, told CNN on Thursday morning, "We have an unprecedented number of our customers who are without power."
He noted the fact that the eyewall of Hurricane Milton traveled through Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, and called it "a game changer."
PowerOutage.us
Kate Murphy
Florida Highway Patrol rescues dog tied to a fence
Florida Highway Patrol officers came to the rescue of a dog that was tied to a fence in Tampa.
"Do NOT do this to your pets please," the agency said in a post on X.
The dog was doing well after he was rescued, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Update: The dog rescued by @FHPTampa is safe and receiving care. Troopers brought him to a vet, where he was examined for injuries and received a clean bill of health. pic.twitter.com/cut1jv7cBe
Wind and rain batter Sarasota, Fla. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
Hurricane Milton lived up to its billing as a dangerous storm when it came ashore on Wednesday. Here's a recap of the damage it caused.
Milton made landfall Wednesday at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET in Siesta Key, Fla., the National Hurricane Center said
Milton had sustained winds of 120 m
The storm unleashed heavy rains in the Tampa region, with St. Petersburg getting over 5 inches of rain in a single hour and more than 16 inches over 24 hours
A storm surge of several feet was reported south of Siesta Key in towns like Venice and Punta Gorda
Prior to Milton's landfall, at least 19 tornadoes touched down in the state and a record number of tornado warnings were issued
Flash flood emergencies were issued in several cities and towns, and sprang up along the I-4 corridor as the storm headed toward Orlando
As of midnight ET, more than 2 million Florida residents and businesses were without power
Mike Bebernes
More than 1.9 million Florida homes and businesses now without power
Power outages in Florida from Hurricane Milton. (Poweroutage.us)
Over 1.9 million utility customers were without power in Florida as of 11:30 p.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.us.
David Knowles
Fabric roof of Tropicana Field is left in tatters
After Hurricane Milton hit Tampa Bay with heavy rainfall and strong winds, the fabric roof of Tropicana Field, where the Tama Bay Rays baseball team play, was left in tatters.
Video posted by WFTS meteorologist Jason Adams captured the damage.
OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded. #StPete#Miltonpic.twitter.com/36UKLO9cK6
Flash flood emergencies expanding across I-4 corridor, NWS says
Flash flood emergency declarations, the most severe flood warning issued by the National Weather Service, are following the path of Hurricane Milton as it pushes along Florida's I-4 corridor, the agency said late Thursday.
"Flash Flood Emergencies are expanding across the I-4 corridor. This situation is extremely rare and only issued for a severe threat to life due to flooding," NWS said in a post to X.
The agency urged Florida residents in the region to take the following steps:
Stay where you are; do not drive
Plan for water to rise and have a path to higher ground
Call 911 if you need emergency help
Flash Flood Emergencies are expanding across the I-4 corridor. This situation is extremely rare and only issued for a severe threat to life due to flooding. Additional emergencies may occur as #Milton moves across the I-4 corridor in Florida so keep these in mind: - Absolutely… pic.twitter.com/QzKrMSrj53
On its website, the NWS says that flash flood emergencies are issued for "the exceedingly rare situations when extremely heavy rain is leading to a severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon. Typically, emergency officials are reporting life-threatening water rises resulting in water rescues/evacuations."
Mike Bebernes
Video shows the moment Milton makes electrical transformers explode
Footage captured by the dashcam of a Lee County sheriff’s deputy shows multiple electrical transformers bursting simultaneously across the tree line.
With maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and higher gusts, Hurricane Milton was "bringing devastating rains and damaging winds inland over portions of central Florida," the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. ET advisory.
Milton is moving east-northeast at around 16 mph, meteorologists said in the bulletin, adding "this general motion is expected to continue through Thursday, followed by a turn toward the east on late Thursday."
Overnight into Thursday, Milton "will continue to move across the central part of the Florida peninsula overnight, and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday."
"Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida overnight," forecasters said. "After moving into the Atlantic, Milton is expected to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken."
David Knowles
Tampa Bay spared storm surge threat
Because Hurricane Milton came ashore south of Tampa Bay, the city was spared the heavy storm surge that cities like Sarasota experienced.
That's because the counter-clockwise circulation of the storm ended up pulling water out of Tampa Bay, pushing it to the right-hand side of the hurricane.
"Top of Tampa Bay - 5 ft reverse surge!" WFLA-TV chief meteorologist Jeff Berardelli said in a post on X. "Bottom of Tampa Bay 2 feet of storm surge. Shows you just how close this was to a storm surge catastrophe in Tampa Bay."
Top of Tampa Bay -5 ft revese surge! Bottom of Tampa Bay 2 feet of storm surge. Shows you just how close this was to a storm surge catastrophe in Tampa Bay and the residents Tampa/ St Pete. But unfortunately Sarasota got nailed by ~10 feet pic.twitter.com/VQF0jYOvwO
More than 1.6 million Florida homes and businesses now without power
Over 1.6 million utility customers were without power in Florida as of 10:30 p.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.us.
poweroutage.us
David Knowles
Flash flood emergency issued for Brandon, Lakeland and Palm Harbor
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for areas to the north of Tampa Bay, including the towns of Brandon, Lakeland and Palm Harbor, where extreme amounts of rainfall have been reported since Hurricane Milton pushed ashore.
Flash Flood Emergency continues for Brandon FL, Lakeland FL and Palm Harbor FL until 4:00 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/EfQ7SCOyR5
Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida in 2024, tying the record for the heaviest season on record
With Helene and Francine striking earlier this year, Florida has now seen three separate hurricanes make landfall this season. That has only happened five other times in recorded history, according to hurricane expert Philip Klotzbach.
The last time Florida experienced a three-hurricane season was in 2005, the year that Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast.
A trio of hurricanes also hit Florida in 1871, 1886, 1964 and 2004. There's still more than seven weeks before 2024’s hurricane season comes to an end.
Nicole Darrah
Milton downgraded to Category 2 hurricane
Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 2 storm on Wednesday night, less than two hours after it made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla., the National Hurricane Center said in a 10 p.m. ET update.
Despite being downgraded, the storm is still packing a punch with 110 mph winds. A flash flood emergency is in effect for the Tampa Bay area until 2:30 a.m. ET.
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