At 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 9, Hurricane Milton made landfall over Siesta Key, near Sarasota, Fla. With sustained wind speeds of 205 km/h, the record-breaking storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
Milton quickly secured a spot for itself in the record books for the fastest intensification in the Atlantic Basin, growing from a tropical depression to a monstrous Category 5 hurricane in only 49 hours. It also beat out Hurricane Beryl for being the strongest storm on the planet of 2024.
Ahead of Milton’s landfall, all eyes were on the potential impacts to the Tampa Bay area, which had not taken a direct hit by a major hurricane in over one hundred years.
Warnings of catastrophic storm surge and damage flooded media outlets in the days leading up to the event, with over one million Florida residents being ordered to evacuate their coastal homes.
This all comes while many Floridians were still cleaning up from the damage caused by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Perry, Fla., during the overnight hours less than two weeks prior on Sept. 26.
As Milton’s outer bands reached Florida on Wednesday, the state saw over 120 tornado warnings being issued, with over one dozen confirmed tornadoes, over a 24-hour span. This sets a new record for the most tornado warnings issued in a 24-hour span for Florida, and is second in the United States following the April 2011 tornado outbreak in Alabama. Unfortunately, multiple fatalities were reported in St. Lucie County amid Wednesday’s tornado outbreak.
A flash flood emergency was declared for the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday night as Milton made landfall over the state. With a potential of over 450 mm of rainfall, “catastrophic” flash flooding was expected throughout the area.
Overall, Tampa received about 285 mm of rain on Wednesday night—more than the city’s monthly record for October rainfall.
SEE ALSO: How are animals being kept safe during Hurricane Milton?
Tampa Bay also reported a significant “anti-surge” amid Milton’s landfall, with strong offshore winds pushing water out to over 1.3 metres below normal.
All of that displaced water had to go somewhere, though, and Venice, Fla., reported 5.32 ft (1.62 m) of storm surge—just shy of the 5.38 ft (1.64 m) storm surge caused by Helene.
Naples, Fla., however, saw storm surge levels significantly greater than those from Helene, with water reaching 5.08 ft (1.55 m) above normal on Wednesday night—1.18 ft (36 cm) greater than Helene’s storm surge.
Water levels began to recede during the early hours of Thursday, revealing the true extent of the damage caused by this fearsome storm.
As of 9:00 a.m. ET, over 3.3 million customers are without power across Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing.
See below for videos and photos showcasing Milton’s landfall impacts across Florida.
Keep up-to-date with the latest hurricane developments by visiting The Weather Network’s hurricane hub.
Inside Hurricane Milton, @saildrone reported wave height of 28.12 feet and wind gusts as strong as 75.95 mph while 40 nautical miles from the center of the storm. This research represents a collaborative endeavor to better understand the role of the ocean in hurricanes. pic.twitter.com/gmaUopPEWj
— NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Lab (@NOAA_AOML) October 9, 2024
Thumbnail image taken by Nathan Coleman/TWN
