Hurricane Milton struck Florida's West Coast in the United States as the Category 3 storm made landfall on Wednesday evening south of Tampa Bay in the Siesta Key area, a barrier island next to Sarasota.
It brought powerful winds, heavy rain and tornadoes to parts of the West Coast. The storm's maximum sustained winds at landfall were registered at 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour), as per the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Milton Live Updates
As per NHC (National Hurricane Center), Hurricane Milton has weakened further and is now a Category 1 hurricane. It will continue to move East-Northeastwards across the Florida Peninsula.
As per the latest update from the weather service provider, Hurricane Milton is moving off the coast of east-central Florida but is still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rains. A storm surge warning has also been issued along the coast from east-central Florida northwards to southern Georgia.
Damaging hurricane-force winds will continue for few more hours in east-central and north-eatern Florida.
Heavy rainfall continues across the central to northern Florida peninsula, flash flood warning has also been issued by NHC.
According to PowerOutage.US latest numbers, around 2.8 million customers were without power across Florida amid reports of the hurricane spawning multiple tornadoes across its path on Wednesday night.
5 am EDT - Hurricane #Milton moving off the coast of east-central Florida. Still producing damaging hurricane-force winds and heavy rains. Here are the Key Messages. Go to https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ for details. pic.twitter.com/w14GGYpPDL
October 10, 2024AdvertisementWhat Time Did Hurricane Milton Hit Florida?
Hurricane Milton struck the West Coast of Florida at around 8:30 pm local time on Wednesday. The heavy storm led to power disruption in the region. As per the PowerOutage.US, nearly 2.2 million customers were left without power supply as the hurricane crossed the region.
Hurricane Milton Live Tracker
Here is the live tracker map (by windy.com), which depicts the forecast for the next 48 hours.
Hurricane Milton imposes an "extremely life-threatening situation" on the western coast of Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. It said damaging winds and torrential rainfall would extend well inland and outside the forecast zone.
Hurricane Milton to Extend Inland
Although the Milton hurricane has weakened slightly since it made landfall, it is expected to retain intensity the entire time it travels across the Florida Peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said.
Milton is expected to cross the central part of Florida overnight into Thursday and then leave the state to enter the Atlantic Ocean.
AdvertisementDestruction By Hurricane Florida
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that Hurricane Milton caused damage in numerous counties, destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes, reported Reuters. Further two deaths have been reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida, NBC News reported.
President Joe Biden Updated On Hurricane Impact
US President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation in Florida and Hurricane Milton's initial impact, according to a statement by the White House. Homeland Security Advisor Liz
Sherwood-Randall and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell updated Biden about the storm.
"You should evacuate now, now, now. You should have already evacuated. It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," Biden said.
What Is Hurricane Milton?
Hurricane Milton was a Category 5 storm, barrelling across the Gulf of Mexico. Milton, one of the strongest hurricanes in the region, was expected to hit Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Millions of Floridians hurried to complete their storm preparations and evacuate areas prone to being hit. A Hurricane warning had been put in place for 28 counties in Florida.
Hurricane Milton imposes an "extremely life-threatening situation" on the western coast of Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. It said that damaging winds and torrential rainfall would be extending well inland and outside the forecast zone.
On Monday, Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified to sustain a wind speed of 290 km per hour but dropped dramatically on Tuesday morning. Not long after, the hurricane regained its speed as winds hit 257 km/hr in the evening of the same day. The storm intensified from Category 1 to Category 5 within hours on Monday.
Hurricane Milton is the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which typically extends from June 1 to November 30.
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