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A slightly weaker Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday (US time) threatening huge swaths of Tampa Bay, Sarasota and regions still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Storm-force winds, flooding rains and tornadoes spreading inland as the hurricane made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County.
Milton’s sustained winds tapered off from 233kmh to 193kmh, bringing it down to a Category 3 hurricane, as it grew in size.
USA Today reports Florida officials as saying that about 125 homes were already destroyed by Hurricane Milton by late Wednesday.
Nearly one million people were in the dark within 15 minutes of Milton’s landfall, according to some estimates.
STORM SURGES
As Milton approached, the water began rushing out of Tampa Bay in a phenomenon known as reverse storm surge. The phenomena happens when powerful winds in a landfalling hurricane blow from the land over a bay or waterway and push the water out. South of Tampa along the coast, storm surge flooded into communities with increases in water levels exceeding 4-8 feet in some locations.
Officials along the Southwest Florida coast warned the storm surge could continue rising into the early morning.
Meteorologist Tyler Fleming confirmed to USA Today that a reverse surge is happening in Tampa Bay. He said water levels for the bay are below normal tide but urged people to remain indoors until officials give the all-clear.
The weather service also warns that catastrophic flash flooding is possible in north central Florida as Milton crosses the state.
Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, said most of the lost residences were mobile homes in senior communities.
TORNADOES
Tornadic supercells − rotating thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes − began to sweep across the Florida peninsula, hurricane officials said.
More than 12 million people were under tornado warnings, and the National Weather Service in Miami said on social media it had up to four visually confirmed tornadoes.
Even before making landfall, Milton brought a punch for many Floridians as its outer bands prompted 98 tornado warnings from the Tampa Bay, Melbourne and Miami offices of the National Weather Service, the agency said on Wednesday.
NWS-Miami meteorologist Will Redman said a preliminary report found at least nine tornadoes were confirmed in Miami, where the office received 23 reports for South Florida.
