Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida as a Category 3 storm, bringing powerful winds, heavy rain and tornadoes to much of the Gulf Coast, including communities already battered by deadly Hurricane Helene. By Thursday morning, Milton — weakened, but still dangerous — was moving off Florida’s east coast as a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It was 75 miles (120 kilometers) east-northeast of Cape Canaveral around 8 a.m. Hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings were discontinued for Florida’s west coast and Milton was expected to move farther from the peninsula and to the north of the Bahamas.
Tornadoes touched down across the state before the storm made landfall. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed. Four people were killed, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, a barrier island of white sand beaches south of the Tampa Bay area, which is home to over 3.3 million people.
Millions of people were ordered to evacuate. President Joe Biden, who postponed an overseas trip so he could monitor Milton from the White House, said it “could be one of the worst storms in 100 years to hit Florida.”
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Where and when did Milton make landfall?
Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday near Siesta Key, off the coast of Sarasota, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa.
It has about 5,500 residents, many of retirement age.
Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. “Dr. Beach,” named Siesta Beach the United States’ best beach in 2017, and MTV’s “Siesta Key” gave audiences a reality-show view of the place in recent years.
How bad is the damage expected to be?
About 125 homes were destroyed before Milton made landfall, many of them mobile homes in communities for older adults. More than 3.3 million homes and businesses were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
St. Petersburg residents also were without household tap water after the city shut down service due to a water main break.
Officials in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee counties urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.
Florida’s Gulf Coast is especially vulnerable to storm surge, and Milton brought life-threatening high waters to densely populated areas.
Though the deadly storm surge feared for Tampa appeared not to have materialized, the city still saw flooding. Farther south, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office reported localized flooding and storm surge, and Lorraine Anderson, Venice Beach's public information officer, said on CNN that the area saw an estimated 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2 meters) of surge, far below the feared 15.
Helene came ashore about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Tampa and still caused drownings in the Tampa area because of storm surges about 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 meters) above normal tide levels.
Milton was forecast to dump as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain as it crosses the state, bringing the risk of catastrophic flooding.
Why are scientists saying this is an odd storm season?
Milton is the latest system in a storm season scientists say is the weirdest they have ever seen.
Beryl became the earliest storm on record to reach Category 5 status, but there was record quiet from Aug. 20 — the traditional start of peak hurricane season — to Sept. 23, according to Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Then five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes at the same time, which had never happened before, Klotzback said.
In just 46 1/2 hours, Milton went from forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane.
Some might wonder if it is possible to control extreme weather events. But scientists say hurricanes are too powerful for that, and climate change is providing more fuel than ever for storms like Helene and Milton.
What makes Milton so unusual?
Warm water fueled rapid intensification that took Milton from a minimal hurricane to a massive Category 5 in less than 10 hours.
Milton also grew so potent because it avoided high-level cross winds that often decapitate storms, especially in autumn. As Milton neared Florida, it hit those winds and dropped in strength.
What if I have travel plans to Florida?
Airports including Tampa International and nearby St. Pete-Clearwater International were shut down.
And tourism in Orlando, about 84 miles (135 kilometers) inland from Tampa, halted Wednesday after the city's airport — the nation's seventh busiest and Florida's most trafficked — ceased operations. At least three major theme parks — Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld — also closed.
The Associated Press
