Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds close to 125 mph as of 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.
Hurricane Milton is heading toward west-central Florida as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds. Landfall is expected between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. ETThe latest storm surge forecast is nine to 13 feet for Sarasota, six to nine feet for Tampa and eight to 12 feet for Fort Myers. The tornado threat continues with several tornado warnings currently in effect across the eastern Florida peninsula, from west of West Palm Beach to just southeast of Orlando.Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Siesta Key, FloridaThe National Weather Service Doppler radar data indicated Milton made landfall in Sarasota County along the west coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds.
Based on preliminary information, about 125 homes have been destroyed, "most of them mobile homes and senior communities," he said.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hurricane Milton rapidly intensifies into Category 4, hurricane watches issued for Florida's Gulf CoastJustin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps company. Justin covers anything from politics to sports and entertainment.
Read more »
Hurricane Milton explodes into Category 5 hurricane with Florida in its sightsJustin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps company. Justin covers anything from politics to sports and entertainment.
Read more »
Hurricane Milton live updates: Florida braces before Category 4 storm makes landfallHurricane Milton is surging toward Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm, and is now projected to make landfall slightly south of Tampa. As schools and airports shut down, highways are packed with evacuees who are facing gas shortages and are fearful of the damage they will return to. NBC’s Tom Llamas reports for TODAY.
Read more »
Hurricane Milton makes landfall on Florida’s west coast as a devastating Category 3 stormHurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a powerful Category 3 storm.
Read more »
Hurricane Milton Shows How a Storm’s Category Doesn’t Tell the Full StoryMilton’s reclassification to a Category 3 storm suggests it is weakening, but the scale accounts only for wind speed and not hurricane size, storm surge heights, or rainfall—which are all catastrophically large.
Read more »
LIVE COVERAGE: Hurricane Milton nears Florida’s coast as Category 3 stormHurricane Milton is charging through the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida’s coastline, now at Category 3 status after spending much of Tuesday as a Category 5 storm.
Read more »