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Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key Wednesday evening just before 8:30 p.m., as the Category 3 storm continued to lash the Gulf Coast with heavy rain, whipping winds and spawning a series of tornadoes across much of the peninsula.
Milton’s eye had been on land for hours before the National Hurricane Center made the official landfall on the barrier island off the coast of Sarasota County.
The hurricane made landfall just south of Tampa Bay, causing possibly the most severe flooding in the densely populated and vulnerable area. But Tampa Bay and much of the Gulf Coast still experienced as much as 120 mph sustained winds and higher gusts. And communities south of landfall could see double-digit storm surge, including Fort Myers Beach and into the Naples area.
Milton is expected to maintain the hurricane’s strength as it moves inland, crossing south of Orlando before spewing out near the Space Coast. The bulk of the rain — up to 18 inches in the worst spots — will fall north of the eye path, drenching the already soaked area of Central Florida and triggering several flash flood warnings Wednesday evening.
Tornadoes devastated the southern part of the state, hitting Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Palm Beach Gardens, St. Lucie County and even as far south as Broward County, where they tore off roofs and leveled buildings. The National Weather Service issued about 100 tornado warnings between noon and 6 p.m.
As the powerful storm moved ashore, water levels rose in Tampa and near Naples, where the storm surge was comparable to Hurricane Helene before the sun even set. By evening, Sarasota recorded a storm surge of at least six feet. A steady drizzle flooded the streets on the opposite coast, in St. Augustine.
By 8 p.m., nearly half a million people were without power, mostly in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.
READ MORE: Florida customers are without power ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall
While the full toll of Milton’s likely deadly wave won’t be known until the sun rises, it appears the worst-case scenario of a two-story building-level storm surge in densely populated Tampa Bay was avoided.
As predicted by the hurricane center, Milton’s eye made landfall just south of the mouth of the bay. A 40-mile jog would have been the difference between what would surely be a catastrophic scenario for hundreds of thousands of people and a nightmare scenario.
As winds pounded the Gulf Coast, pushing at least six feet of storm surge ashore, calls for help poured in.
“We will be ready to help those in need,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday evening. “Hopefully there aren’t many.”
He noted that because Milton arrived earlier than initially expected, rescue efforts could begin in just a few hours.
“It means that almost all rescues will take place in the dark,” he said. ‘That’s fine. Our people are going to do it.”
Officials are ready to recover
Armando Pimentel, president and CEO of Florida Power and Light, said Wednesday afternoon that the company has more than 17,000 employees stationed from more than 40 states and is ready to help restore power when it is safe to do so. Some had already begun the restoration in Southwest Florida between Milton’s bands, he said.
“We expect a challenging environment that will restore power,” Pimentel said.
Historically, he said, FPL has been able to provide estimated recovery times for counties in the state about 24 hours after the storm, and is prepared to do so again.
Governor Ron DeSantis said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that the state has 50,000 line workers from multiple states, including FPL forces, ready to restore power in “the largest storm mobilization in the history of the state of Florida.”
Federal officials also said they are ready for Milton to strike.
FEMA says the Biden administration has assigned 1,200 search and rescue personnel from FEMA, the Department of Coast Guard and Defense, to prepare the state to immediately respond to Milton, adding to the 1,000 already on the scene. Millions of meal kits have already been sent to the state before landfall. The emergency response team also says that 30 high-water vehicles and helicopters, as well as 500 ambulances, have already been deployed in the state.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said she plans to work side by side with DeSantis. A national team is embedded directly within the city of Tampa, “so we can have a seamless flow of communication as they experience the impacts, and we can help provide the resources they need for those initial lifesaving efforts,” Criswell said during a Wednesday news briefing.
