Hurricane Milton still lashing state heading into Atlantic; multiple tornado deaths reported

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key on the Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday night as a major Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph winds as the state endured an assault of at least 19 tornadoes that resulted in multiple deaths. It never lost hurricane strength as it crossed the state exiting near Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said the county had more than a dozen confirmed tornado touchdowns, and one destroyed a senior community neighborhood made up of mostly mobile homes.

“They didn’t stand a chance,” he said. The sheriff’s office announced Thursday that four people had died in the county.

At 8 a.m., the hurricane was located about 75 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. moving northeast at 18 mph. Its eye had moved off the coast as of 4 a.m. after spending nearly seven hours crossing the state.

Emergency officials across the state urged residents to stay inside as teams assessed damage including downed power lines and fallen trees. Search and rescue operations were in effect in some Gulf Coast counties.

More than 18 inches of rain and 101 mph gusts were reported in St. Petersburg with multiple areas flooded from rain and storm surge there and up and down the Gulf Coast. A 103 mph gust was reported as deep as Mulberry in Polk County, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 3.3 million customers without power in the state as of 8:30 a.m., according to poweroutage.us. Gov. Ron DeSantis said 635,000 customers had already had their power restored.

More than 50,000 linemen are staged in Florida to deploy and tackle the outages. The hardest hit counties were Hillsborough (75%), Hardee (97%), Manatee (82%), Pinellas (68%) and Sarasota (75%).

“Milton moved quickly across central Florida overnight, producing significant flooding and damaging winds near its path,” said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. “The center of the hurricane is now exiting the state near Cape Canaveral, and the worst conditions have shifted to east-central and northeastern Florida.”

Hurricane-force winds extend out 35 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend out 205 miles from the storm’s center.

By 8 a.m., the NHC reported sustained winds of 58 mph and a gust of 76 mph at Marineland on the Flagler/St. Johns County line and sustained winds of 46 mph and a gust of 67 mph at Patrick Space Force Base between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach in Brevard County.

Three hours earlier at 5 a.m., the NHC reported sustained winds of 75 mph and gust of 83 mph in Marineland, a sustained wind of 61 mph and gust of 76 mph on South Hutchinson Island, and a sustained wind of 60 mph and gust of 87 mph at Daytona Beach International Airport.

“On the forecast track, the center of Milton will move away from Florida and to the north of the Bahamas today,” forecasters said. “Gradual weakening is expected, but Milton is forecast to become a powerful extratropical low tonight.”

The storm dropped 6-12 inches of rain across Central Florida, with some areas near Interstate 4 getting 12-18 inches, said National Weather Service in Melbourne meteorologist Tim Sedlock on Thursday. another 2-4 inches are forecast to drop in portions of Central and North Florida today.

“This has and will continue to produce flash flooding impacts and considerable river flooding along the St. Johns River.” he said.

A flood watch remains in effect today for Central Florida with the St. Johns River at Astor to be near record flood levels Thursday afternoon and into the weekend.

Storm surge remains a concern on the east coast. The NHC says surge of 3-5 feet could be seen from Sebastian Inlet north to Altamaha Sound, Georgia and 2-4 feet on the St. Johns River.

A hurricane warning remained in effect as of 8 a.m. for the Florida east coast from Sebastian Inlet north to the Flagler/Volusia county line. Inland hurricane warnings remained in place as of 5 a.m. for all of Central Florida including Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole and Volusia counties.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Florida’s east coast south of Sebastian Inlet to the Palm Beach/Martin county line, Lake Okeechobee, north of the Flagler/Volusia county line to Edisto Beach, South Carolina, and the extreme northwestern Bahamas, including Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos and Bimini.

Some of the reports of damage include the roof being ripped to shreds on Tropicana Field and cranes toppling in downtown St. Petersburg.

The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the hurricane passed over the barrier island of Siesta Key just 5 miles west of Sarasota at 8:30 p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, making it a major Category 3 hurricane having dropped from Category 5 hurricane it had been overnight.

“The storm is here. It’s time for everybody to hunker down,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an evening press conference before landfall. “If you start to get in a situation where trees are snapping, power’s popping, you do have to treat it like a tornado. And then, if you are in a tornado warning that’s a duck and cover in a place that’s safe in your structure. Those can be very, very dangerous, even if you are inside.”

He said the storm picked up speed making landfall earlier than forecast, but that meant it was coming in ahead of high tide, which should help with the storm surge threat, which was forecast to be between 5-13 feet from the Charlotte-Lee county line up to Anna Maria Island.

Between 4 a.m. and 8 p.m., the NWS issued nearly 126 tornado warnings. Gov. Ron DeSantis said 19 had confirmed touchdowns.

“Numerous counties have reported tornado damage,” DeSantis said, but at the time only reported injuries, and not the deaths in Fort Pierce.

Those were at the Spanish Lakes Country Club, a senior community off Spanish Lakes Boulevard near Fort Pierce, Sheriff Pearson said. State officials joined his sheriff’s deputies in a search and rescue operation. He said the tornadoes destroyed hundreds of structures in the county including a sheriff’s office building.

“We’ve already seen probably more tornado watches than I’ve ever seen,” he said. “I was talking to people. ‘Do you ever remember?’ No one remembers ever seeing this many tornado warnings … there was Fort Myers, but there was Palm Beach, there was there was Port St Lucie. I mean, it was all over the state. So, so that is a hazard for sure, and I think we’re likely to continue to see those throughout tonight.”

The National Weather Service will be out in the coming days assessing damage to determine each reported tornado’s damage and reporting its intensity on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with some of the tornadoes suspecting of being EF-3, with gusts of 136-165 mph.

“Over the coming days, survey teams will be out assessing damage for EF rating purposes and track adjustments. We’ll make the results public as we complete them,” reads an update from NWS Miami where many of the tornadoes took root.

Images captured by Florida Department of Transportation cameras on Interstate 75 showed a funnel cloud crossing in the Everglades around 10 a.m.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno posted damage from a suspected tornado in Matlacha on the Gulf Coast with power lines leaning to one side.

A large funnel cloud was captured in Wellington taking out power transformers crossing a major road.

Videos from FDOT cameras captured a massive tornado moving across Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County near Fort Pierce.

It could be the same tornado was responsible for an accident near Florida’s Turnpike after 5 p.m., and a semi-truck overturned blocking the entire highway, according to FL511.com.

Video also showed severe damage to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.

Millions were ordered to evacuate and the state’s highways have been clogged and residents faced stations without fuel. Mandatory evacuation orders for barrier islands, mobile homes and low-lying areas were issued across 11 counties with a combined population of 5.9 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that while Hurricane Milton has been destructive, it could have been a lot worse, as the state focused efforts on recovery hours after the storm moved away from the state.

Speaking from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee, he said no official deaths have been reported yet, but he did expect at least the tornado fatalities reported out of St. Lucie County from Wednesday and potentially others around the state to be added to the toll.

“I know there have been reports. We have not confirmed any. That does not mean there has not been any,” he said. “There’s a process where this happens with the state. I know with the tornadoes, it seems very likely that there were some with the tornadoes, that’s the only reports we’ve received. No confirmations. I imagine there’s going to be some confirmations, but it’s too soon to tell with respect to the west coast and the storm surge and everything, so stay tuned on that.”

He’s set to speak again at noon from Fort Pierce, the site of some of the rash of tornadoes that hit the state.

His initial assessment was the state dodged a bullet.

“We had certain worst-case scenarios in terms of going into Tampa Bay, a lot of places in Pinellas County, and they had negative storm surge because it sucked the water out of the bay. So in terms of all that, where you’d see the entire Tampa Bay Area underwater, that did not happen,” he said.

The highest surge areas were in Sarasota County, which hit 8-10 feet, whereas Hurricane Helen saw up to 20 feet in Taylor County.

DeSantis said outside reports the state may be facing $50 billion in damage was not reasonable.

“I’m not saying there’s not going to be damage. There will be a cut across the state, in a way that Helene did not, but in terms of just right now, the morning after, if I think back to like Hurricane Ian, I don’t think that you’re looking at similar amount of damage to Ian,” he said.

Part of major damage would be because of the foreboding storm surge that had been facing Tampa Bay, which ended up not happening. In the end, parts of the coast saw similar or less surge than was seen two weeks earlier with Hurricane Helen.

“There may end up being more overall damage there. May not, I don’t know, but definitely the surge did not reach Helene levels. I mean, Helene was producing major surge all across the west coast of Florida, and then in the Big Bend, it was just a biblical,” he said.

He said the focus now is to get roads clear, bridges reopened and people back to their homes.

“We had over 80,000 people that were into shelters overnight as the storm hit the state,” he said. “We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses.”

Teams are out in force to assess damage.

“What we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario,” he said. “The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene.”

First responders continue work that began overnight to help people in distress.

“State search and rescue teams report at least 48 individuals have been rescued as of 6:30,” he said. “National Guard search and rescue teams have worked overnight and successfully executed rescues of families and pets on the West Coast and from the destruction of the tornadoes in east, in the central and eastern parts of Florida.”

He said the National Guard continues Thursday morning amid 125 active missions in 26 different counties with more than 6,500 soldiers deployed.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission made land and water rescues in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, he said, while the Florida State Guard has also helped with search and rescue, floodwater evacuations and damage assessments.

State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie urged Florida residents to not go out and visit the damaged areas.

“You will be inhibiting first responders by doing so. By now, we need those roadways cleared for electrical crews, fire crews, EMS crews, urban search and rescue crews,” he said.

He said 20 such crews will move into impacted areas and do door-by-door searches.

“This was not the worst-case scenario. We still had damage, and we’re going to need to get out there and go door to door and make sure that everyone is OK so please stay off the road,” he said.

While the governor’s executive order called out local governments so they would not be able to block people trying to get back to their homes, Guthrie said be patient.

“I know a lot of people evacuated, and we appreciate that,” he said. “Do not be in a hurry. Check in with your local emergency management agency or local sheriff’s offices to see if they’re posting anything on if it’s safe to return home.”

The state will be opening up roads and bridges, but residents need to check first before heading home.

“There may be extenuating circumstances in the neighborhood level. So please make sure you’re checking before you come back home,” he said.

The powerful hurricane surged Monday into a monster Category 5 storm with 180 mph winds in the Gulf of Mexico, then lost some steam overnight as it moved over the waters just north of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, falling to 145 mph winds earlier Tuesday. But then it climbed back hitting 165 mph winds in the evening again.

“I know some of our residents that just experienced hurricane damage from Helene are also fatigued,” DeSantis said during a Tuesday briefing. “Just hang in there and do the right thing. Just let’s get through this. We can do it together, and then on the other side of it, make sure everybody’s safe and and we’ll put the pieces back together.”

He spoke again from the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee after 10 a.m. Wednesday.

“We are bracing and are prepared to receive a major hit. Facing this with the seriousness it deserves, but also with the determination that we will get through this,” he said.

He said 20 other states are assisting Florida ahead of the storm.

“This is just what we as Americans do. We’ve had opportunities to help other states in the past, including most recently in western North Carolina. And I think it shows the spirit that these states are stepping up and providing really valued support,” he said.

51 counties remain under a state of emergency.

Prep works included more than 1,500 missions for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“We’ve delivered massive amounts of supplies, meals, water bottles, sandbags, tarps, generators to be able to help our local communities respond to this storm,” he said.

He said 11,000 feet of flood protection systems have been built around critical infrastructure like hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities and electric infrastructure.

Generators have been sent to shelters and Starlink internet devices across the state.

600 ambulances are in operation helping the the prep effort including assisting evacuation of 352 healthcare facilities including 16 hospitals in the storm’s path.

There has been a run on fuel as millions evacuated from the West Coast, but the state has on hand still 1.6 million gallons of diesel and 1.1 million gallons of gasoline.

“There is no — right now — fuel shortage, however, demand has been extraordinarily high, and some gas stations have run out to be able to help ameliorate that,” he said. ”

FHP has helped 106 long-distance fuel tanker escorts delivering nearly 1 million gallons of gasoline from ports in Tampa, Jacksonville, Everglades and Manatee to help.

The Florida Department of Transportation is set for post-storm work staging 156 bridge inspectors, 328 cut-and-toss personnel and more than 1,500 pieces of heavy equipment.

Personnel from the Florida National Guard, Florida State Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife and the Florida Highway Patrol are activated as well.

“We have hundreds of state search and rescue personnel on hand, 26 total teams,” he said. “They are currently embedded in the potential impact sites along the west coast to begin immediate rescue operations as soon as the storm passes.”

The National Guard is deploying 6,000 Guardsmen from Florida and 3,000 from other states. Other states have supplied 34 search and rescue air vehicles. The state has on hand 500 tactical vehicles, including 180 high-water vehicles, aerial, water and ground National Guard search and rescue teams.

“This is the largest Florida National Guard search and rescue mobilization in the entire history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

His Florida State Guard also has deployed 200 soldiers.

More than 50,000 linemen are being brought in from states as far as California.

“As soon as that storm passes, you’re going to see the assessments and the power restoration efforts commence immediately,” he said.

More than 500 law enforcement officers from out of state are on hand to help.

“There is going to be a lot of damage from this storm. There’s going to be opportunities for people to try to take advantage of that,” DeSantis said. “My message to you is, don’t even think of it. We are going to come down hard on you. You’re going to regret that you tried to do that. So I appreciate all the other folks from out of state who are coming in to supplement this effort. We need to maintain law and order.”

DeSantis said this is the largest storm response prep the state has ever seen, especially with the surge of help from other states.

“We’ve had a tremendous response from other states, just like we responded to North Carolina when they needed it. States have come to Florida’s aid, and so I just want to thank the states that have stepped up and helped us, whether it’s a Chinook helicopter, whether it’s some search and rescue personnel, you name it, we’ve had a number of states that have stepped up to help us.”

Earlier this week, the system had rapidly grown from a tropical storm with 50 mph winds Sunday morning to a Category 5 hurricane to 180 mph winds by Monday evening, an increase 130 mph in intensity in just under 36 hours.

Only Hurricane Wilma in 2005 and Hurricane Felix in 2007 had more rapid intensification among NHC records.

Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said this is the latest in the calendar year ever for a Category 5 hurricane with at least 175 mph winds on record. He said it was the strongest in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005’s Hurricane Rita.

It’s also only the second October Category 5 hurricane in the satellite era since 1966 he said after 2018’s Hurricane Michael.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has had 13 named storms including nine hurricanes, four of which grew to major hurricane strength, and four tropical storms.

Hurricane season runs from June 1-Nov. 30.

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