13 people killed | At least 150 tornadoes reported across Florida
Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, pounding cities with ferocious winds and rain, and whipping up a barrage of tornadoes. It caused at least 25 deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.
The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa. While it caused a lot of damage and water levels may continue to rise for days, Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not "the worst-case scenario."
Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
Here's a look at the damage from the storm.
More than 3 million customers are without power in Florida.
More than 50,000 linemen have been pre-staged across Florida to restore power, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
At least 15 tornadoes have been reported on Wednesday, mostly in South Florida.
Several tornado warnings are ongoing across the eastern Florida peninsula, from west of West Palm Beach to just southeast of Orlando.
With major airports already shutting down, gas stations running low on fuel, a spate of tornado warnings and bridges on the Florida Peninsula closing, authorities are warning residents in the path of Hurricane Milton that it may be too late to evacuate.
READ MORE | 'This is it, folks': Florida officials warn it may be too late to evacuate
"This is it, folks," Kathy Perkins, Pinellas County's emergency management director, said Wednesday morning. "I'm not saying this to scare you -- I want you to be prepared."
Milton was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday but remained a major storm and a grave threat as it closed in on Florida's west coast, where officials sounded urgent warnings for residents to flee inland or face grim odds of surviving the storm's surge.
Milton has fluctuated in strength as it approached, but regardless of the distinction in wind speeds, the National Hurricane Center said it would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late Wednesday.
Officials said at 3 p.m. that the Category 4 storm's center was 120 miles (193 kilometers) southwest of Tampa and 110 miles (177 kilometers) west of Fort Myers. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (209 kph).
The storm is expected to make landfall Wednesday night.
