Hurricane Milton Makes Landfall in Florida, Spawning Tornados and Destruction

Hurricane Milton made landfall with Florida on Wednesday night, with several powerful tornados ripping through the southern state ahead of the hurricane’s impact. The Associated Press reports that more than 130 tornado warnings connected to Hurricane Milton were issued by the National Weather Services offices in Florida.

The hurricane hit Florida as a Category 3 storm with winds of over 100 mph, ultimately landing in Siesta Key, which is south of Tampa. Destruction and flooding was widespread along Florida’s west coast and central region, including in Tampa and St. Petersburg. After landfall, Hurricane Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm and has since been categorized as a Category 1 storm.

In St. Petersburg, Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was badly damaged, per photos posted to social media. The fabric across domed building’s roof appears to have been ripped by the winds, leaving almost none of it still intact.

The storm toppled several large cranes and knocked out power across a large section of Florida. As of early Thursday, there were with more than 2.8 million homes and businesses without power. In St. Petersburg, a water main break caused the city to shut down water access. A Tampa Bay Times reporter shared a video of the street outside the newspaper’s office, revealing vast destruction.

Hurricane Milton, which is continuing to cause heavy rainfall, is expected to continue to traverse Florida today, also impacting the Orlando area. A risk of flooding continues to be a threat to a large portion of the state, and strong winds have begun to affect the eastern side of the state, according to CNN.

The National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, posted a flash flood warning in the early hours of Thursday, noting that “life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses” is likely.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, “We have lost some life,” but didn’t clarify the death toll. The total number of casualties from Hurricane Milton is yet to be confirmed. According to Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, about 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane landed. Many of them were mobile homes in communities for senior citizens.

Earlier this week, local authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties, affecting around 7.2 million people. “I can say without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said on CNN. “If we have that predicted storm surge, it is not survivable.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a warning Tuesday morning that “time is running out” to evacuate. “But you do have time today to heed any evacuation orders and do what you need to do to protect yourself and our families,” he said.

Vice president Kamala Harris responded to the destruction in Florida on Wednesday night, confirming she had spoken to St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch. “I let him know: Our administration stands with the people of St. Petersburg as they prepare for Hurricane Milton, and we will be with them as long as it takes to recover,” she posted on X.

She added, “President Biden and I were briefed on our coordinated preparations for Hurricane Milton. Federal personnel are on the ground in Florida, and we are in consistent contact with local leaders to make sure communities receive the resources and support they need.”

Milton’s landfall comes nearly two weeks after much of the southeastern U.S. was devastated by Hurricane Helene. Cities including Ashville, North Carolina, were heavily damaged, and residents lost power and phone service. More than 200 people are confirmed dead. 

Following the destruction, several artists including Ben Folds, Luke Combs, Eric Church, and Sturgill Simpson have confirmed they’d play benefit shows to help raise money for relief efforts. Yesterday, Taylor Swift donated $5 million to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief efforts.