Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota County as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday night and exited as a Category 1 storm on Thursday.
Topline
More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power early Thursday as Hurricane Milton pulled away from Florida as a category 1 storm after spawning multiple tornadoes and major flooding as it moved through the state overnight.Key Facts
8 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 —The National Hurricane Center placed Hurricane Milton about 75 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, with maximum wind speeds of 85 mph.
The only remaining hurricane warning in effect at 8 a.m. was for Florida’s east coast from Sebastian Inlet northward to the Flagler/Volusia County line.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Florida’s east coast south of Sebastian Inlet to the Palm Beach/Martin County line, Lake Okeechobee, and north of the Flagler/Volusia County line to Edisto Beach, South Carolina.
6 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — Orlando Police and Orlando Fire officials were “back on the road” early on Thursday after having to shelter in place during the hurricane, while Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office also said it has begun rescue operations.
4:40 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton has now moved past Florida’s east coast but was still producing “damaging hurricane-force winds” and heavy rains in the state’s east-central region.
4 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — Almost a million more customers have lost power across Florida in the last few hours; more than 3 million homes and businesses are now facing outages, according to PowerOutage.US.
3:45 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — Authorities in Plant City, located in the Tampa Bay Area, warned residents to avoid standing water due to the “possible danger of live electrical lines” and wastewater contamination—while officials in city of St. Petersburg were forced to shut down the drinking water supply at midnight due to a potential line break.
2:15 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — A large crane collapsed and smashed into the side of a building in downtown St. Petersburg, the Tampa Bay Times reported, adding that the incident occurred near the newspaper’s main office and smoke was billowing out of the affected building.
According to the Associated Press the crane had been set up the construction site of a 515-foot-tall luxury high-rise building and local fire officials said there are no reports of any injuries from the collapse.
2 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — The National Hurricane Center update showed Milton has weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moves through Central Florida but the agency warned that “damaging winds and heavy rains” will continue to pose a threat.
12:45 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — The National Weather Service said the center of the Hurricane is now moving inland towards Central Florida after battering the Tampa Bay area with peak wind speeds of above 100 mph on Wednesday night.
12:30 a.m. EDT, Oct 10 — Strong winds from Milton appeared to damage a portion of the roof of Tropicana Field—the Tampa Bay Rays’ home venue—although there were no reports of any injuries to people inside the stadium. According to the Associated Press, the ballpark is being used as a staging site for workers who have been brought in to deal with the hurricane’s aftermath.
11:45 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 — A tornado outbreak in Florida’s St. Lucie County and the East Coast resulted in multiple fatalities earlier on Wednesday, the local sheriff’s office said.
11:15 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 — According to PowerOutage.US around 2 million customers were without power across Florida amid reports of the hurricane spawning multiple tornadoes across its path on Wednesday night.
8:30 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 — Milton made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph.
7 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 — The “northern eyewall” of Milton was moving into the Tampa Bay area, with forecasters urging those in the area to “shelter in place.”
6:36 p.m. EDT, Oct. 9 — The National Weather Service issued an extreme wind warning for Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties in the Tampa Bay area as “extreme winds, associated with the eyewall of Hurricane Milton, were moving onshore,” telling those in the warning area to “Treat these imminent extreme winds as if a tornado was approaching and move immediately to the safe room in your shelter.
