HOUSTON — 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 storm 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.
Here’s the latest:
More than half a million Florida power customers plunged into darkness
TAMPA, Fla. — Nearly 700,000 customers were without power in Florida early Wednesday night as hurricane Milton pummeled the state, according to PowerOutage.us.
Tampa Electric, Florida Power & Light Company and Duke Energy were reporting some of the largest outages as the hurricane made landfall about 68 miles (109 kilometers) south of Tampa.
Some power lines were taken down earlier in the day by tornadoes that formed in the rain band of the hurricane.
Many Florida energy companies warned customers in advance to prepare for outages caused by the storm. Duke Energy Florida said in a statement earlier Wednesday that it was staging resources along the outside of the hurricane’s projected path to respond to outages as soon as weather and other conditions allow.
There are more than 11.5 million power customers in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
Milton didn't hit Tampa directly, but the area is still seeing its deadly effects
MIAMI — Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said. It is a barrier island off Sarasota with white-sand beaches and has about 5,500 residents.
The community is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Tampa. While the city did not take a direct hit, Hurricane Milton was still producing deadly storm surge and powerful winds in the area.
Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm
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 near Siesta Key, Florida, at 8:30 p.m., the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. The storm 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.
Hurricane Milton spawns multiple tornadoes across Florida
MIAMI — Multiple tornadoes spawned by the hurricane tore across Florida, the twisters acting as a dangerous harbingers of Milton’s approach.
Three Florida offices of the National Weather Service in Miami, Tampa and Melbourne issued more than 130 tornado warnings associated with Hurricane Milton by Wednesday evening.
Videos posted to Reddit and other social media sites showed large funnel clouds over neighborhoods in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in the state.
Luke Culver, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, said he wasn’t sure whether Milton had spawned a record number of tornados, but he pointed out that only 64 Florida tornado warnings were associated with Hurricane Ian, which hit the Tampa Bay area as a massive storm in 2022.
Tornadoes produced by hurricanes and tropical storms most often occur in the right-front quadrant of the storm, but sometimes they can also take place near the storm’s eyewall, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The heat and humidity present in the atmosphere during such storms and changes in wind direction or speed with height, known as wind shear, contribute to their likelihood.
