Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall on Siesta Key just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, slamming the Gulf Coast with heavy rainfall. Forecasters predict that the severe hurricane will exit the Atlantic before daybreak after passing near Florida.
Milton’s eye made landfall on the barrier island off the coast of Sarasota County hours before the National Hurricane Center declared it official.
The hurricane hit well south of Tampa Bay, potentially sparing the densely populated and vulnerable region from the worst floods. However, Tampa Bay and parts of the Gulf Coast experienced 120 mph sustained winds and higher gusts. Communities south of the landfall experienced double-digit storm surges, including Fort Myers Beach and the Naples area.
Around 2 a.m., sustained winds of 90 mph downgraded Milton to Category 1. The storm continued to move quickly east-northeast at 16 mph through central Florida. The storm is approximately 30 miles south of Orlando.
Forecasters predict that Milton will remain a hurricane as it advances across Florida, finally exiting the state and entering the Atlantic near the Space Coast before daybreak Thursday. Hurricane-force winds are continuing to cause widespread damage and death, as well as significant rainfall and flooding.
The majority of the rain, up to 18 inches in the worst locations, is expected to fall north of the eye’s path, soaking the already saturated central Florida region.
We anticipate a few more tornadoes in central and eastern Florida on Thursday morning. Tornadoes wreaked havoc on the state’s southern end the day before, striking down in Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach Gardens, St. Lucie County, and even Broward County, ripping off roofs and razing structures.
The National Weather Service issued over 100 tornado warnings in a six-hour period Wednesday.
As the severe storm approached land, water levels surged in Tampa and near Naples, which saw similar storm surges to Hurricane Helene before the sun set. By evening, Sarasota had recorded at least 6 feet of storm surge. On the other shore, a steady drizzle drenched the streets of St. Augustine.
By 1:50 a.m., more than 2,600,000 residents and businesses across the state were without power. The most affected counties are Manatee, Sarasota, and Hardee.
Gulf Coast battered by storm surge, winds
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We won’t know the full extent of Milton’s potentially catastrophic surge until the sun rises, but it looks like we’ve avoided the worst-case scenario of a two-story building-level storm surge in the densely populated Tampa Bay.
Still, fierce winds have hammered the city, blowing off the roof of Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium that was being used as a shelter for emergency responders. A crane toppled into the Tampa Bay Times office building.
The hurricane center anticipated that Milton’s eye would make landfall just south of the bay’s mouth. A 40-mile run could have been the difference between a catastrophe for hundreds of thousands of people and a horrific scenario.
With winds shredding the Gulf coast and bringing at least 6 feet of storm surge ashore, requests for assistance poured in.
“We will be ready to help people in danger,” stated Gov. Ron DeSantis during a press conference on Wednesday evening. “Hopefully there aren’t a lot.”
Because Milton arrived sooner than predicted, he observed that rescues could begin within a few hours.
He informed me that nearly all the rescues would take place in the dark. “That is OK. Our people will carry out the task.
Officials ready for recovery
Florida Power and Light President and CEO Armando Pimentel said Wednesday afternoon that the business has over 17,000 workers stationed in over 40 states, ready to help restore power when it was safe. Some of them have even started rehabilitating areas in Southwest Florida between Milton’s bands, he said.
“We anticipate a challenging environment restoring power,” Pimentel told reporters.
He stated that FPL has previously been able to offer anticipated restoration timelines for counties across the state within 24 hours of the storm and that they are prepared to do so again.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis stated that the state had 50,000 lineworkers from different states, including FPL’s army, ready to restore electricity in “the largest storm mobilization in the history of Florida.”
According to federal officials, they are ready for Milton’s strike.
According to the agency, the Biden administration has ordered 1,200 search and rescue troops from FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Defense Department to pre-position in the state and respond to Milton immediately, adding to the 1,000 already on the ground.
The state has already received around 20 million meal packs and 40 million liters of water ahead of landfall. The emergency response service also reports the dispatch of 60 high-water vehicles, helicopters, and 500 ambulances.
Biden also asked the Pentagon “to be ready to provide active-duty service members to support Florida after the storm if Governor DeSantis requests that help,” a White House official told McClatchy and the Miami Herald.
According to a top presidential aide, the White House will be on an “all-night watch” as the storm progresses, and they anticipate briefing the president throughout the evening. Shortly after the hurricane made landfall, the president’s homeland security advisor briefed him on its immediate impacts.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell stated that she intends to work alongside DeSantis. “So we can have a seamless flow of communication as they are experiencing the impacts, and we can help provide the resources they need for those initial life-saving efforts,” Criswell said during a news briefing on Wednesday, directly embedding a national team in Tampa.
