- Hurricane Milton slammed into southwest Florida on Wednesday.
- The storm caused widespread flooding and left over 3.3 million homes and businesses without power.
- Winds tore the roof of Tropicana Field and caused a crane to collapse.
Thanks for signing up!
Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you’re on the go.
Hurricane Milton ripped through southwest Florida on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Big Bend region.
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota County as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. It was later downgraded to a Category 1.
Before Hurricane Milton even hit, tornadoes wrecked homes and killed four people. St. Petersburg police confirmed an additional two fatalities from the storm on Thursday, NBC News reported.
Widespread flooding and winds of up to 120 mph left over 3.3 million homes and businesses without power as of Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Hurricane Milton weakened before reaching the Florida coast, lessening storm surges that were predicted to be on par with Hurricane Helene.
“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” he said at a briefing on Thursday.
At a time when hurricanes are becoming more frequent and more costly, the cost of Hurricane Milton’s destruction remains to be seen, but Hurricane Helene caused an estimated $34 billion worth of damage.
Photos show the aftermath of Hurricane Milton along Florida’s coast.
Floridians had barely begun rebuilding and cleaning up the debris from Hurricane Helene before Hurricane Milton became a threat.
Millions of Florida residents were urged to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall on Wednesday, leading to traffic jams.
Before the storm even made landfall, the wind and rain were intense.
Tornadoes ripped homes apart before Hurricane Milton reached Florida’s west coast.
By Wednesday evening, there had been 19 tornadoes across the state, causing major damage and killing at least four people.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in southwest Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, then was downgraded to a Category 1.
Hurricane Milton’s highest storm surges reached 8 to 10 feet in Sarasota County, lower than the areas most impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Winds of up to 120 mph ripped through the state, shredding the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
The high winds also toppled a tower crane in downtown St. Petersburg and sent it crashing into a building.
As of Thursday morning, over 3.3 million homes and businesses across Florida remained without power.
Officials have asked locals not to become “Florida man” or “Florida woman” — a reference to Floridians doing bizarre things — by cutting power lines after the storm.
Now, all Floridians can do is wait for the waters to recede and assess the damage.